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Before the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration kicked off Friday afternoon, a group of Parkdale High School students danced across the stage, each bearing a flag and holding it up high, as the audience clapped along.

The flags came from around the world, including El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico and the United States, and they all represented Latin America.

For members of the Riverdale school's Latinos' Association To Increase National Outstanding Students or LATINOS Club, the performance represented more than just weeks of hard work — they said it was the first time they felt like they properly displayed their diverse cultural heritage before their school.

The 16-member club is meant to be a "safe haven" for Latino students, said Spanish teacher and club sponsor Ralph Sierra. Students learn about various cultures, dance and socialize in the club.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

The Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, in which students sang, danced and explained various cultural practices, was the first of its kind at the school, said Sierra.

He said he wanted the performance to educate students on the diversity of Latino culture, which included elements of hip-hop, cumbia and salsa.

"They're getting recognition and they're being represented," he said.

LATINOS Club co-presidents Merlin and Erlin Garcia, seniors from New Carrollton, said they wanted to do something to honor Hispanic heritage before they graduated, especially since the school population is 36 percent Hispanic. African-American students comprise 56 percent of the school's population.

"Usually when people think of Hispanics, it's just stereotypes, and that we're all the same," Merlin Garcia said.

Members of the Lyrikal Storm spoken word club and Parkdale Dance Team joined LATINOS Club members to present poems, songs and dances from Miami and countries such as Mexico, Dominican Republic and Peru.

The show was originally slated to be an evening ticketed event, but Sierra said they changed it to a daytime assembly in the wake of the death of Parkdale High freshman Marcos Medina, who was shot and killed Sept. 30 while walking in an East Riverdale neighborhood at night.

Sierra said there wasn't enough security available to patrol an evening event, and they had to scale back the performance, which had included explanations of various Latino legends and myths such as the boogie man.

The celebration was dedicated to Medina's honor, and students placed a donation box at the door to raise money for his family.

Senior Jerry Montero from New Carrollton said although group performers didn't know Medina, they felt it was only right to do something for his family.

"We felt bad because it's one of us," Montero said. "Latinos are like a family."

Sophomore Carlos Rojas of College Park said he had to learn how to dance Bachata for his part of the performance. He said he may use his newfound dancing skills at quinceaneras, which are like sweet-16 parties except held on the 15th birthday.

"It shows my friends the things I can do," he said.

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.