MHS Spanish Club hosts Costa Rica Cena Cultural meal, silent auction

​     Lily Ferry and Addyson Probasco carry a guest’s order to their table from the kitchen during the Cena Cultural event at the Montezuma Methodist Church on Sunday, March 19. The event included students sharing about their trip to Costa Rico in December along with a silent auction.

​By J.O. Parker
 
     The basement of the Montezuma Methodist Church was alive with a flavor of Costa Rica food and culture at the Cena Cultural event on Sunday afternoon, March 19.
    Hosted by the Montezuma High School Spanish Club, guests enjoyed a variety of Costa Rica food prepared and dished out by the parents of club members with the students taking orders and serving food and drinks.
About 85 meals were served and the food consisted of the following:

• Gallo Pinto, a traditional staple dish from Central America consisting of rice and beans as a base.
• Tamales made with plantain leaves instead of corn husks
• Aguacate, a Spanish word for the traditional avocado
• Platanos Maduros, fried sweet plantains bites that are creamy and tender in the middle
• Empanadas, a baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling common in Spanish cultures
• Pastel de 3 leches, also known as Pan tres leches or simply Tres leches, a sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and whole milk 
• Flan, a custardy Mexican desert and Arroz con leche, a Mexican rice pudding

     •     Jugo fresco de guanabana/maracuyá/guayaba, a juice drink
     The event, a fundraiser for the Spanish Club, included a silent auction featuring many handmade items by the students centering around Costa Rica culture. The evening closed out with some of the students sharing photos and their experience of traveling to Costa Rica in December. The event raised around $1,200 for the Spanish Club.
    Carrie Stockman, Spanish teacher at Montezuma, said she appreciates all the people who came out to support the students, sample the food and donate and purchase auction items.  And she also sends thanks to those who prepared the food and did whatever needed done to pull off the fundraiser idea, especially her family.
     "I love sharing the culture of Spanish speaking countries with those in the community who have never had the opportunity to travel,” noted Stockman. “I hope these events will encourage others to travel and learn.”
The Spanish Club has trips planned to Europe this summer, Chicago in November and Puerto Rico in the winter of 2024.