- Once the pinata breaks open,
(bell tinkling) all the goodies
are on the floor,
and kids are everywhere trying to grab as much as they can!
- And some adults try to sneak and grab some goodies too.
(both giggling)
(upbeat music)
- Hi, welcome to the Disney Princess Club.
I'm Isabella.
- I'm Caitlin.
- And I'm Yasmeen.
- [All] It's Hispanic Heritage Month!
- In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month,
Yasmeen, Isabella, and I have decided to share
some of our favorite things
that originated from or were influenced
by Latin and Hispanic communities.
- Yes, there are so many different things to choose from,
but I managed to narrow down my personal favorite.
- Me too. I'm pretty sure you both love my choice.
- Ooh, I can't wait to see what you two choose.
- Before we get into our picks,
let's talk about the Hispanic Heritage Month
and explain why we celebrate it.
- Great idea.
Hispanic Heritage Month started out
as a weeklong celebration.
It was created by California Congressman
George E. Brown in 1968.
- And then in 1989, George H. W. Bush
was the first president to declare
(bell chimes) September 15th
through October 15th National Hispanic Heritage Month.
September 15th was chosen as the first day
of the celebration
because Honduras, Nicaragua, (bell chiming)
Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador
all gained their independence from Spain
on September 15th, 1821.
- Hispanic Heritage Month honors the culture and traditions
of those who trace their roots
to Spain, Mexico, (bell chiming)
and Spanish speaking nations of the Caribbean,
Central America and South America.
- Yeah, you can go to museums to check out the art,
or you can do art walks in your community.
- Read literature, listen to music, or go to concerts.
- Attend parades and fairs.
- And eat food.
- Ah, we can't forget about the food.
- Yeah. I'm glad that you mentioned food.
- Right? Because you're hungry?
- (laughs) No, because that's my pick, the food.
- I love Hispanic food.
- Same. It's the best!
- I'm going to be talking about the food
that originated from or was influenced
by Latin and Hispanic communities.
Do you both like empanadas?
- I do! - Yup.
- Well, empanadas originated in Spain and Portugal.
They are a pastry shell (bell chimes)
in a crescent shape.
They can be filled with corn, (bell chiming)
cheese, vegetables, or meat.
- I like shrimp empanadas.
Oh, and beans and cheese. (bell dings)
- I like spinach and also chicken empanadas.
- I like beef and potato empanadas.
Okay, next one. Have you both heard of gallo pinto?
- Hmm. Is that rice and beans?
- Correct!
Gallo pinto is a traditional dish of Central America.
It's also the national dish of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
- I love it.
You can eat gallo pinto with (speaking in foreign language),
fried eggs, tortillas, and more.
You know, there's a variety of ways
you can prepare rice and beans.
It all depends on the country you're from.
- I'm officially hungry now.
(all giggle)
- Yeah, talking about good food is really hard
when you aren't about to eat it.
Okay, one more.
Let's talk about dessert!
- Tres leches cake.
- Flan. (record scratches)
- No, actually, how about you try to guess
which dessert I'm describing?
- Okay, we got this.
- This Mexican pastry is very popular.
You can find them almost anywhere
from street carts to restaurants, to amusement parks,
like Disneyland.
- Churros!
- Ding, ding, ding! You're correct.
What's so cool about churros
is you can add almost anything to them
like chocolate sauce, ice cream or sprinkles.
- Yeah, it's really good.
I like that it's crunchy and sweet.
- These were some great choices, Caitlin.
- Thank you. I'm sorry for making you both hungry.
(both giggle)
(air whooshing) (bell tinkling)
- Okay. My turn.
I'm gonna act out my choices.
- Okay.
(upbeat music)
(bell chimes)
(Yasmeen grunts)
(Yasmeen grunts) (air whooshes)
(bell tinkling)
(air whooshes)
I know what your choice is. Pinatas.
- Oh, yes, pinatas!
- You both are correct!
- Yay! (all giggle)
- Pinatas are awesome.
Whenever I would go to birthday parties,
I always hoped that there were pinatas.
- Yup, pinatas are over 700 years old.
And they originated in Asia.
But the 14th century pinatas were seen in Europe
and used to celebrate Lent.
Then it made its way to Mexico in the 16th century.
It wasn't until the 1970s
that pinatas were introduced at birthday parties!
- That's why the Mexican pinata
is made of cardboard and paper mache,
then covered with colorful tissue paper.
- That's right!
This is the type of pinatas you see at birthday parties.
Right, Isabella?
- Right.
But this is the first time
I've seen a princess style pinata.
How cute.
- Isn't it?
You would fill this up with candy, fruits, and small toys,
close it and hang it up high.
- Then at birthday parties,
each kid gets a chance to hit the pinata.
A parent or an adult blindfolds all the kids
and gives each of them a wooden stick,
which they will use to hit the pinata with.
But before they can hit the pinata,
they spin the kids around to make them all dizzy.
(record scratches) - So not only
are you blindfolded, but you're also dizzy.
And now the goal is to hit the pinata
with a wooden stick hard enough for it to break open,
and free all the goodies inside.
It's so funny to watch.
- And to be a part of, because once the pinata breaks open,
all the goodies (bell chimes)
are on the floor,
and kids are everywhere trying to grab as much as they can.
- And some adults try to sneak and grab some goodies too.
(Yasmeen chuckles)
- I do love pinatas. You were right, Yasmeen.
- Yes, you were.
(Yasmeen chuckles)
(bell tinkles) (air whooshes)
- Okay, so we did pinatas and food so far.
Those are definitely some of my favorite things
from Latin and Hispanic cultures.
But my number one favorite is dance.
- What? You like to dance?
- I do. What about you?
- Oh, I'm always ready to dance.
- Good, because today,
I'll be showing everyone how to do the merengue.
- [Both] Okay!
- The merengue is a dance style that originated in Africa,
but it became very popular in the Dominican Republic.
It's the country's national dance.
You usually do the dance with a partner,
but you can also do it by yourself.
- The merengue is also a music genre,
which originated in the early 1800s.
- So you could do the merengue dance to merengue.
(upbeat music)
- And that's what I'll be doing today.
(bell tinkling) (air whooshing)
So the first step on how to do the merengue
is first, you're gonna step on your left foot,
kind of like you're stepping on a little bug. (chuckles)
So you're gonna step one.
And then the other one goes up,
and then you're gonna step down on the other right leg, two.
So then while you're doing that,
you can also incorporate your hand in it.
So while then we're doing those both at the same time,
you get this.
(upbeat music)
So once you have that move down,
you can start doing other steps, like going to either sides,
whatever one you want.
So first, you're gonna step on this leg
and go to the right side.
(upbeat music)
Then you can go to the left.
And then go back.
And then if you want to get fancy with it,
you can spin around in a circle.
(upbeat music)
And that's how you do the merengue.
- Whoo-hoo! Good job, Isabella.
- You did amazing.
- Thank you, Yasmeen and Caitlin.
- Merenge isn't too hard to follow along with.
- And I like that we get to move our entire bodies.
- Up next, samba!
Like merengue, not only is there a dance called samba,
but samba is a music genre.
It originated in Africa,
and it became popular in Brazil during the 20th century,
- Samba became so big in Brazil, that in the 1920s,
they started to open samba schools
to teach people how to dance the samba.
- Then by the 1930s, the samba school parade was started
as a friendly competition between the schools
to see which one was the best.
- Samba is a huge part of Brazilian culture
and their carnival.
Now let me show you how to samba.
(bell tinkling) (air whooshing)
So first you're gonna put your hands
all the way up to the sky on, up, up, down, down,
kind of like you're reaching for a bird or something.
So then you're gonna go up, up,
down, down with your arms.
Now for your legs,
you're kind of gonna do the same thing
like we did with the merengue.
So it's gonna be up, up, down, down.
So now let's put it all together.
(upbeat music)
You could also turn around in a circle.
And then you can also do a little bit of this.
(hands clap)
And that's how you do the samba.
(bell tinkling) (air whooshing)
- You got some moves, Isabella. Great pick.
- Yeah, it was. You know how to dance.
- Thank you.
(bell tinkling) (air whooshing)
- I love talking to you both today,
but my favorite part was talking about the churros.
Mm, they're so yummy. Nothing could beat them.
I love all Mexican pastries. What about you both?
- Yeah, I really loved
how Isabella danced to the samba and the merengue.
- It's gonna be really hard to pick one favorite,
but I think my favorite has to be
when Yasmeen was talking about the pinatas.
I have so many good memories with pinatas.
Like every year for my birthday parties,
I've always had pinatas,
and my family and friends would come over,
and we always had the best time grabbing candy.
(bell tinkling) (air whooshing)
- Well, that's all the time we have for today.
Thank you so much for joining us
as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
- Hopefully, you learned something new
and we're able to follow along with the dance moves.
I'm Isabella.
- I'm Caitlin.
- And I'm Yasmeen, until next time.
- [All] Bibbidi, bobbidi, bye!
- Hasta luego.