New Haven Independent

Much of the cultural exchange happened over traditional Hanukah food. While the Latino seniors all sat together in one corner of the large recreation hall, their hosts circled the tables with cheese, latkes, and overflowing bowls of sour cream and applesauce.

The party took place Tuesday at the Jewish Community Center over the city line in Woodbridge. The Jewish Coalition for Literacy, which hosted the event, recruits reading tutors to work at three New Haven public elementary schools: Columbus Family School, Katherine Brennan, and Nathan Hale.

Several months ago, the coalition’s 35 tutors and its coordinator, Brenda Brenner, concluded that their one-on-one reading sessions could be improved. Many of the volunteers work with kids who speak only Spanish at home. To find common ground despite some obvious differences, “the tutors wanted to learn Spanish,” according to Brenner. She found Tomas Miranda, a native Spanish speaker and former principal of a school in Norwalk, to teach conversational Spanish to the volunteers.

Lindy Gold, another tutor, and a Spanish student, felt the lessons had allowed the tutors to form stronger bonds with the students. “By connecting with them in their language, the tutoring relationship becomes much deeper. We can mentor the kids instead of just teaching them.”

Last month, the budding Spanish students were invited to test their linguistic mettle at a Latin-themed event at Casa Otoñal, the senior complex on Sylvan Avenue. That experience inspired the Coalition tutors to invite the seniors to the Jewish Community Center in Woodbridge Tuesday. “They invited us to share their culture and language, and we wanted to return the favor,” explained JCL coordinator Brenda Brenner (pictured serving cheese).

It’s not very often that the story of Hanukah is retold in Spanish. Tomas Miranda’s audience listened attentively as he unfolded the tale of a people who were forbidden to speak their own language. This cultural emphasis on Hanukah’s origins resonated with the Latino guests. The Casa Otoñal seniors nodded as Miranda explained how las Judias defended their cultural identity. Despite their recent Spanish lessons, many of the Jewish listeners followed Kinneret Chiel’s English version a bit more easily.

The low-key gathering included both Hanukah rituals and traditions from other cultures. Jonah Cooper, a high-school student whose mother Lauri Lowell directs New Haven’s Jewish Community Relations Council, lit the Hanukah candles along with his brother Daniel. Though he has lit Hanukah candles many times at home, Jonah said the experience was a first for him “in a big group like this.”

Later in the evening, Tomas Miranda and JCL volunteer Alan Cooper held the piñata, which was a hit with all the kids. For Miranda, the piñata was also an appropriate symbol of multiculturalism. “It is a tradition in China and Italy, as well as Spain and Mexico.”

Several of the kids clearly took great pride in their superior language skills. At the serving table, one young Latina guest turned away from the desserts long enough to confirm, “I speak lots of Spanish.”

At this Hanukah celebration, the idea of a prohibition against any culture was difficult to imagine. Juanita Perez who loved the latkes, also approved of the cultural exchange. “Diles, tell them; we are very satisfied.”