"Cumbia at JHHS" by Linden Hansen

Rhythmic beats pulse through the doorway– dancing across the cold, bare hall outside of room 2331. 

Inside, several pairs of Latino students are moving effortlessly to the marks of the music, while others talk over what song they will play next.

Mrs. Japel welcomes me as I enter and eagerly begins conversation. The other teacher in here with her, whom she graciously credits for the success of the Wednesday Flex Cumbia Club, is Mrs. Malone.

“Mrs. Malone studied Latin dance at Stanford,” she tells me, “so we started this together. She has really connected with the Latin dance community in Jackson.” My eyes find her in the room– she is dancing Cumbia with a young student now, a dance that, to an untrained eye, shares similarities with salsa. It originated in Colombia in the late 19th century but spread across Latin America in the 20th, and has become wildly popular in Mexico.

“We think we need more outlets in our school that are not academic,” explains Mrs. Japel, “spaces where everyone is comfortable trying. We hope especially to see the level of trust in here grow.”

The club started with around 6 students, and now there are roughly 18 regular attendees. “A girl who moved to the high school from the Dominican Republic was one of the first ones to sign up”, says Mrs. Japel, excitedly. “There’s no one here from the DR, you know. And she was like “What? We have dances at our school?”’

Remembering the origin of the club, Mrs. Japel says “One day we had 15 or 20 kids in here for Flex just on their phones and I was like– “What if we dance?” They were all surprised, asking “What? We can dance?” And I decided, “Why don’t we?”’

“The goal is to form a space where people feel connected and find community in a new way. A lot of kids want to participate but many don't know the moves.” But, that’s alright, she assures, because “the best way to learn is just to watch.”

When I ask a pair of girls why they come here, one smiles and says “my friends” matter-of-factly. The other explains they “don’t have other times at school to do things like dancing.” 

“This is a safe space for them where they feel comfortable,” emphasizes Mrs. Japel. 

A favorite dance in the Wednesday Cumbia Flex and in the Mexican youth community of Jackson Hole in general is El Payaso de Rodeo. 

“It’s a dance that everyone knows in here,” continues Mrs. Japel. “We thought it would be cool to teach everyone that dance, and to do it at school dances to represent more of our student body.”

“Hopefully we can get a mix of kids too,” she tells me about increasing diversity at the Cumbia Flex. 

“We need organic integration, not forced.” For example, she says, “Once a week, my English class is going to work with Joe Dvorak's Spanish class, doing little interviews. I want to connect with their class so the kids can feel a little more comfortable. Maybe if they make friends in that classroom we can bridge the relationships with Anglo students in a non-threatening way.”

“Anyone is welcome”, she voices finally, as she gestures at the students twirling to the blend of percussion, guitar, bass, and accordion.