Thursday night marked the exciting return of Jueves Gigante to the PAC at Walt Whitman High School. Jueves Gigante is Whitman’s all-Spanish talent show celebrating Hispanic culture and bringing our diverse community together for a night of fun, laughter, and entertainment.  The event is a fundraiser for our Latino Heritage Club seniors. Jueves Gigante was first presented by the Latino Heritage Club in 2022 and we are so thrilled to have it back again! 

Jueves Gigante is based on Sabado Gigante, the hugely popular Spanish-language variety show that went on the air in 1962 and ran for 53 years until it went off the air in 2015, making it the longest-running variety show in world television history. It aired on Univision for three hours every week, and was a frenzied mix of music, parodies, comedy sketches, contests, and game show segments. The man who held it all together and contributed to all the fun, was the show’s beloved, longtime host Don Francisco.  We thank Whitman alumnus Omar Figueroa (Class of 2006) for coming back to reprise his lauded role as Don Francisco.   

Club advisor Ms. Priscilla Ramirez said the idea for Jueves Gigante developed when one of the club’s board members suggested doing a game show as a fundraiser similar to Senior Follies, and they decided on a takeoff of Sabado Gigante. Ms. Ramirez believes it’s important for our Latino students to be able to have opportunities to embrace their culture and share it with others in our school community.  “I feel like they see everything else that is presented in the school community and sometimes they may not feel like it’s something they can be a part of or identify with. I wanted something that they could do. And it could be an opening for them to also join those other activities,” said Ms. Ramirez. All Thursday night’s sketches were written by the show’s students. 

Congratulations to the Jueves Gigante cast and crew - both students and teachers - for a very entertaining evening! Felicidades a los miembros de Latino Heritage y todos que participaron en JUEVES GIGANTE. Hicieron un tremendo trabajo. GRACIAS a todos quienes fueron y nos apoyaron en el evento. Esperamos que hayan disfrutado mucho!

See more photos here!

Mrs. Rodrigues’ performance as La Cuatro was hilariously accurate!

Whitman alumnus Omar Figueroa interviewed our high school administrators with some personal questions.

Students performed a skit mimicking a classic telenovela plot line.

The Latino Dance Team performed a variety of perfectly choreographed dances.

La Banda de NOTICE performed, leaving the audience wanting more live music.

One of the high school's future Latino Heritage Club members from Stimson performed a musical number.

“Besties” had fun introducing the talented performers inbetween acts.

A BIG applause goes to all of our student and teacher performers! Felicidades a los miembros de Latino Heritage y todos que participaron en JUEVES GIGANTE.