¡Uno, dos, tres! ¡Cuatro, cinco, seis! The staccato rhythm of Spanish music reverberated through the gym, while students danced to the beat of the salsa.

The annual Spanish Cultural Night was held yesterday for current and former Spanish students. Spanish National Honor Society organized the event for students to learn and experience Hispanic culture in a fun environment outside of the classroom while eating Spanish food, watching a variety of performances, and salsa dancing.

“This is my last Spanish Cultural Night so it was pretty memorable,” said Joy Li (12), who has taken Spanish for three years. “There was good food, and the salsa dancing was really fun.”

Starting at 6 p.m., students were served chips and paella, a traditional spanish rice dish, as well as fruit and churros. After dinner, sophomore Nathan Dalal opened the show with his reading of the poem Oda al Gato by Spanish poet Pablo Neruda. His recitation was followed by guitar, piano, and vocal performances as well as a traditional dance by math teacher Jeanette Fernandez with her daughter.

Many students attended the event for the first time.

“It was pretty awesome. The food was amazing. It was cool being part of the Spanish culture,” Sahana Narayan (9) said.

After the performances, Spanish teachers Diana Moss and Abel Olivas taught students a few basic salsa moves and hosted a contest for the best dancers partners.

The teachers narrowed the dance floor down to four couples and the rest of the attendees voted on the winners by applause. The contest was won by partners Carlos Johnson-Cruz (12) and Roshan Daran (12).