Meet Jacqueline Torres, an Art teacher at San Fernando High School and current M.A. student in Latin American Studies at UCLA.
By Veronica Zavala
The UCLA Latin American Institute is proud to highlight Jacqueline Torres, a dedicated art teacher at San Fernando High School and current Master of Arts student in Latin American Studies at UCLA.
A proud graduate of San Fernando High School, Torres returned to teach art. Her calling was to become the kind of teacher she once wished she had. “The only thing I was certain of was that my goal was to teach the class and be the teacher that I would have enjoyed taking in high school,” she said. Now teaching at a school that is 96 percent Latino and predominantly of Mexican descent, Torres has built a classroom rooted in creativity, culture and community, where students see their own histories and identities reflected through artistic expression.
On Oct. 29, 2025, San Fernando High School hosted its third annual Día de Muertos community event—an initiative that began in Torres’s art classroom and has grown into a schoolwide celebration of culture, creativity and remembrance. The event brings together the entire school community: the music department, the folklórico dance group, and countless students, teachers and parents who each contribute in their own way to make the celebration possible.
When Torres first began leading Día de Muertos celebrations with her students, her goal was to help them experience culture, not just study it. “I felt then, as I feel now, that experiencing it for themselves would give them a deeper understanding of the tradition,” she said. Before teaching at San Fernando High, Torres started a Día de Muertos tradition at APEX Academy in East Hollywood, where her students built altars at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
At San Fernando High, the celebration’s impact has been profound. Students prepare weeks in advance, alumni return to volunteer, and the school community gathers to honor memory, creativity and belonging. “Former students continue to volunteer, while current students proudly take leadership roles,” Torres said. “It feels necessary—now more than ever, the community needs to come together for events like this.”
Securing funds for the Día de Muertos celebration remains one of Torres’s main challenges. District protocols and long reimbursement delays often complicate the process. “Sometimes the very resources designed to support us can create more barriers,” she said. But this has not stopped her—each year, she continues to adapt and seek new community sponsors to keep the tradition alive.
In summer 2023, Torres participated in the UCLA Latin American Institute’s Oaxaca Summer Program, an immersive professional development experience for K-12 educators, where she learned about four tenets of communal life: shared land, governance, work and celebration. “One of my biggest takeaways from that summer in Oaxaca was community,” she said. “I felt we could apply this framework to my high school—to reinforce relationships, social cohesion and identity.”
Torres credits the UCLA Latin American Institute’s professional development programs for shaping her teaching and inspiring her next academic chapter. “LAI watered the seed, and it’s been growing and branching in different directions,” she said.
Her decision to apply to UCLA’s Master of Arts in Latin American Studies grew directly from her participation in LAI workshops. After attending the professional development program “The Conquest of Mexico Through Indigenous Eyes,” she realized she wanted to study Latin America more deeply. The program offered a way to process her years of travel and research across Mexico’s 32 states while addressing what she sees as gaps in culturally relevant education within the Los Angeles Unified School District. “Eurocentric perspectives have made us forget our own histories and cultural contributions,” she said. “I want to help bridge that gap for my students and community.”
As Torres begins her graduate studies at UCLA, she aims to deepen the connection between her classroom and the cultural histories she teaches. “Each art project is an opportunity for students to see themselves as part of a larger story—one rooted in resilience and creativity,” she said. Her research explores Mexico’s history and culture through visual and performing arts, focusing on Indigenous traditions, folk art and the enduring legacies of colonization throughout the Americas—while continuing to build spaces where students see their own culture reflected in education.
Her advice to educators interested in developing creative community projects: “Anything worth doing is worth doing well, but it also requires help. Do not be too attached to the outcomes. Things go wrong, and life goes on. When you finally get to the event, take it in and enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
We celebrate Jacqueline Torres for her creativity, leadership and deep dedication to empowering students through art and cultural education. Her journey embodies the transformative impact of teachers who connect learning with lived experience.
We invite you to support the UCLA Latin American Institute’s Outreach Program by contributing to the LAI California Community Engagement Fund. Your donation helps us offer workshops and seminars that bring Latin America into classrooms, enriching education and strengthening cultural understanding across California schools.
Every contribution—large or small—makes a meaningful difference. Together, we can continue transforming classrooms and building bridges of knowledge and community.
Published: Monday, November 3, 2025
