El Festival de Colores: Celebrating Unity Through Diversity

Last November, Awty's campuses burst into color as El Festival de Colores transformed the school into a celebration of Spanish-speaking cultures from around the world. From mariachi performances to traditional playground games, from Día de los Muertos altarpieces to cuisine from 19 Spanish-speaking countries, El Festival marked a new chapter for Awty's Spanish Immersion Program, one guided by the vision and energy of its director, Dr. Patrick Miller-Peña.

For Dr. Miller-Peña, who joined Awty just over a year ago, El Festival represented something deeper than a week of activities. It was about creating authentic cultural experiences and bringing unity to a program that serves nearly half of Awty's student body.


A Journey to Awty

Dr. Patrick's path to Houston is as international as the community he now serves. "I've been abroad since I was 19 years old, really permanently since I was 21," he explains. Most of those years were spent between Costa Rica and Ecuador, where he immersed himself in Latin American culture and education.

When heading back to the United States, Dr. Miller-Peña came specifically to Houston, specifically to Awty, and specifically for Spanish.


Discovering Hidden Potential

When he arrived at Awty, he found a Spanish program full of potential but lacking cohesion. "There were so many good things happening, but there hadn't been a central leadership position, so there wasn't unity and clarity across the purpose and function of the program."

What surprised him most? "A lot of people don't realize that about half of all Awty students are part of the Spanish Program." Yet despite this massive reach, the program had developed in silos. "We have something like 42 Spanish teachers. And some of them didn't even know each other. A PK3 teacher and an IB Diploma Spanish teacher may not know each other, even though they're teaching the same subject."

Dr. Miller-Peña spent his first year listening—conducting town halls with teachers, parents, and students. The answer was clear: "We had a lot of great stuff going on, but it was isolated in pockets. The first big task was just to get everybody together."

Three Goals, One Vision

From those conversations emerged three major goals. The first focuses on heritage learners coming out of the Spanish Program who need authentic, literature-based experiences with texts from across the Spanish-speaking world. The second serves students learning Spanish as an additional language, creating the highest level of fluency possible. The third? "To create authentic cultural experiences for students. And that's what El Festival is all about."


Why El Festival de Colores?

The decision to move beyond traditional Hispanic Heritage Month was deliberate. "Hispanic Heritage Month only celebrates Americans who are Spanish speakers. It doesn't celebrate all 22 countries," Dr. Miller-Peña explains. "Moving to something more international, more Awty, allowed us to create space for our families of all different nationalities."

The theme celebrated what Dr. Miller-Peña sees as the program's greatest strength: diversity. "Awty does something I think is great—we don't teach any specific version of Spanish. If you're in a classroom with a teacher from Spain, you're learning their Spanish. From Venezuela, their Spanish. Our students are exposed to Spanish from all over the world."


A Week of Cultural Immersion

El Festival touched every corner of campus. Students learned Latin dance moves and played traditional playground games. Morning carpools became "fiestas." A mariachi band filled the air with music. Students and staff created a mural celebrating Hispanic diversity and built Día de los Muertos altars complete with face painting.

"Over at the ELC, all the kids were cheering 'paletas, paletas' when the paletero (the popsicle cart) came around, no matter what program they were in," Dr. Miller-Peña recalls with a smile. "Even if they were from the French program, now they have that word, that experience."

The SAGE Dining team served cuisine from 19 Spanish-speaking countries. DJ Moxy spun Spanish music during lunch. The staff Sunshine Band performed a Latin music concert. The week culminated with assemblies showcasing student performances.


The Power of Community

Parent volunteers made it all possible. Dr. Miller-Peña’s approach was grassroots. "I put a note in the Awty Notes, 'Here's the theme. Help.' I got probably 10 or 12 parents who immediately jumped on it."

What happened next embodied El Festival's spirit. "We had five or six moms who really led the organization—and they weren't all Spanish program parents. They were Hispanic Awty parents, some from the French program, some from the English program. It wasn't a celebration of the Spanish program; it was a celebration of Spanish-speaking cultures."

The decentralized approach brought together families who might not otherwise interact. "I got to know parents from the French program, Spanish speakers, that I wouldn't normally interact with. The Hispanic culture was the driving force."


More Than Language

For Dr. Miller-Peña, Spanish Program goes beyond vocabulary and grammar. "It's not just about learning the language, but rather experiencing the language," he emphasizes. "Our Spanish teachers are native speakers, many immigrants who grew up and were educated in other countries. They bring that perspective, that life experience into their classrooms."

He wants students to experience "the diverse aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures" and prove to themselves they can succeed in "a rigorous Awty curriculum in a language that's not your own."

Building Bridges

When asked about the unique advantage of the Spanish Program, Dr. Miller-Peña's response is immediate: "There's no greater way to connect with someone than to speak with them in their own language. On our western side of the world, Spanish is the most widely spoken language."

But the benefits extend beyond communication. "Multilingual People have glimpses into another culture, a way of thinking that's different. It creates empathy."

Looking Ahead

As El Festival concluded, Dr. Miller-Peña and his parent committee were already planning. "Next semester, another committee will form to choose the theme for the following year. Our goal is to announce it during the International Festival".

For a program that spent years operating in silos, the transformation has been remarkable. Forty-two Spanish teachers now collaborate. Parents from different programs work together. Students across all divisions experience authentic Spanish-language cultures as one community.

"How do you create a place for culture to thrive if people don't know each other?" Dr. Patrick asks. "Awty is a big school, so it's easy for that to happen unless you're deliberate about it."

With El Festival de Colores, that deliberateness paid off—not just in the mariachi music or the student performances, but in the connections made, the bridges built, and the community strengthened through celebrating what makes the Spanish-speaking world so vibrant: its beautiful diversity.

 

This article features insights from Dr. Patrick Miller-Peña (Spanish Director).

 

January 2026 Articles