“Latin Grammy” teaches students about different Latin American music genres

By Lethbridge Herald on March 5, 2026.

Herald photo by ALejandra Pulido-guzman Grade 2 students perform a song from the movie Coco, during a dress rehearsal of their inaugural Latin Grammy ceremony at West Coulee Station Elementary School Wednesday morning.

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Lethbridge Herald

West Coulee Station Elementary School hosted their inaugural “Latin Grammy” ceremony Wednesday night to celebrate Latin American music, giving students an opportunity to not only improve their Spanish skills, but also to learn about the various music genres involved in Latin American culture. 

Students from all grades showcased their talents during a dress rehearsal Wednesday morning in the school’s gymnasium, to offer parents who were unable to attend the actual event at night, an opportunity to see the children performed. 

Grade 5 teacher Ana Rebolone said that even though this is their third Latin Grammy ceremony, this was their first at the new school. 

“It’s great to do it here as a school-wide event. You can hear kids in the hallways talking about the songs, getting excited about them,” said Robolone. “They are going to be really thrilled with the reveals are tonight.” 

Grade 5 teacher Aja Thompson said this year in preparation for the event, students voted for their favourite songs, bands, or singers, and from there the winners were selected to receive a “Latin Grammy award.” 

“Students will have a chance to perform a song that is within the selection process and have the opportunity to see themselves on stage,” said Thompson. 

She said even though having a school-wide event has been challenging, as it is a lot of work. 

Rebolone echoes her words by saying that even though it is indeed a lot of work, it is very exciting to have such event happening, as a learning opportunity. 

“As the kids learn about different songs, they read about each of the bands and the songs in Spanish,” said Rebolone. 

She said this year they provided the students with bilingual information, so they can all learn side by side with everyone. 

“We have six different genres that are going head-to-head. We have Nuevo Flamenco, songs from movies like Encanto and Coco, we have Mexican regional songs, Latin-Pop,” said Rebolone. 

“We also have a special guest, “Pitbull” has sent us a video that will be specially shown tonight, and we also have our students from G.S. Lakie doing a special performance,” said Thompson. 

Rebolone said they will also be honouring the Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz, as she would have been 100 years old last year. 

“The Latin Recording Academy is honouring her throughout the year, so we felt like this year would be a great year to honour her, and we will be giving her the Latin Icon Award at West Coulee Station,” said Rebolone.