When Student Government Association President Mariana Flores was 14 her family moved from El Salvador to North Carolina. During this time, she was bullied by other students for not speaking English.
“I wanted to talk and have a voice, but not being able to speak English was holding me back,” She says.
These days Flores, a business student, is using her voice to advocate for students and members of A-B Tech’s growing Hispanic community. Last fall she helped to start a Spanish Language club, Nuestra Voz, which brings students together to practice Spanish and explore Hispanic culture.
This fall Flores, 20, will help A-B Tech staff learn Spanish in a Conversational Workplace Spanish class taught by staff member Leigh Bennett by joining in weekly online practice sessions.
“I would like to make all students welcome and create a space where they can practice Spanish,” Flores says.
Speaking Spanish is an important way she stays connected to her home culture. Eating traditional foods is another way. Flores is lucky to live with her mother who regularly makes traditional tamales; pupusas, a type of cornmeal flatbread; and quesadilla, a type of sweet pound cake. Flores also shops at local bakeries and markets such as Los Nenes Bakery and Tienda Hispana La Catrachita, which carry specialties from her country.
Another important ritual: Every day at 3 p.m. Flores enjoys a cup of coffee with El Salvadoran “pan dulce”, or sweet bread, a sesame-seed-topped pastry that’s a cross between cheesecake and pound cake.
“It reminds me of being back in my country,” she says. “I drank coffee with pan dulce at 3 p.m. while watching a telenovela (soap opera) with my grandmother.”
When asks what she misses most about her country, Flores says, “I miss my people, my food, the festivals, the beach.”
Flores stays in touch with friends in El Salvador through FaceTime. “This time of year there are festivals every night of the week in different towns,” she says. “I FaceTime with friends so I can see the festivals.”