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The town of the Esperanza Hispanic Heritage By Ava Ortega: Hello! My picture is named The Town of the Esperanza Hispanic Heritage. My picture is a little town and has a beautiful sky with adobe buildings. The adobe buildings that I drew are made from dirt, and straw, so the people were innovative about making the adobe houses from things around them. The colors that I used in my picture reminded me of a little beautiful Hispanic community. A community and family is an important part of the Hispanic culture and gives hope. Ava Ortega, a 5th-grader at Red River Valley Charter School, won 2nd place with her drawing for an art contest celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

Congratulations To Art Contest Winner Ava Ortega!


New Mexico students were invited to submit entries to the Annual Youth Art Contest in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15). The contest was sponsored by the Hispanic Outreach for Leadership and Awareness committee at Sandia National Laboratories, Kirtland Air Force Base, NNSA Sandia Site Office, and NNSA ABQ Complex.


Sandia National Laboratories and Hispanic Outreach for Leadership Awareness (HOLA) promotes student interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through this annual art contest.


The third through eighth-grade students of Red River Valley Charter School participated in the contest during weekly art classes under the direction of Mrs. Lorie Hawkes.


The students were asked to create a piece of artwork connected to the theme Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage, Hope, and Innovation. The contestants were also asked to include a paragraph describing the art and its correlation to the contest theme.


Red River Valley Charter School is proud to announce that one of our own, fifth-grader Ava Ortega, was selected as second place winner in the elementary category of the contest! Congratulations, Ava, for receiving this award and attaining statewide recognition!


Ava Ortega, a 5th-grader at Red River Valley Charter School, won 2nd place with her drawing for an art contest celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

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