Upper-level Spanish students at Mercer Island High School are getting an authentic dose of South American culture, and will soon get an opportunity to present some of their learning to the community.

Last week, Quechuan musician Luis Gramal came through the Spanish program’s UWHS 103, 201 and AP Spanish and Culture classes. Gramal, a Shoreline resident originally from Ecuador, instructed courses about the Quechua, the indigenous people of the Andes Mountains, and the textiles and music of the region. During his lessons, students made traditional instruments and used a loom to make the textiles.

Gramal is also collaborating with music teacher Tom Cox and the steel drum band for a musical presentation at an Arts Showcase at the high school next month. Students will perform “La Bamba” on the instruments they created.

For Gramal, working with students is an opportunity to spread the richness and vibrance of his Andean culture.

“I want to kind of open their mind and curiosity so if they want to become a doctor and want to do something in South America, they can say, ‘Oh, I know someone from Ecuador. I did something in school, I want to go there,'” he said. “When I came here, people thought I was from Mexico. When I say Ecuador, they might know the geography, but they don’t know about my culture. So now, they know Ecuador has unique things and they see what Ecuador’s about.”

Spanish teachers Peggy Aguilar and Evelyn Jiminez wrote a grant to bring Gramal to their classes, which was funded through the Mercer Island Schools Foundation. Because students in the upper-level Spanish courses primarily speak in Spanish during class time, the curriculum themes shift from focusing on grammar and verb conjugation to topics such as arts, music, culture and politics. Aguilar said having Gramal working with the students helps open their eyes to other cultures they didn’t know exist.

“In terms of their whole person learning, I think it just amplifies their understanding of the world, where other people are from and what kind of cultures they come from,” Aguilar said. “In terms of engagement, it really engages them because it isn’t just, ‘Here’s this page in a book that we’re going to read about.’ It makes things more alive.”

Gramal and his Seattle-based band Quishua Mashis regularly perform at Seattle Center. Teaching students to make instruments, and later perform with them, is very much in line with how he himself was raised.

“Music is a very big part of the culture, almost everybody knows how to play an instrument and how to make an instrument,” he said. “We teach our kids to play instruments as soon as they can hold on to them. I remember I was 7 when my dad taught me how to play the guitar.

“Music is everything. It helps me when I’m sad, it helps me celebrate when I’m happy. People have things they do in different situations, music is what I do. If somebody died, we play music. If something happy happens, again we play music. I don’t know what my life would be without music, that’s how important it is.”

Gramal hopes he can pass on some of that passion for music and his culture in a way that has lasting power with Mercer Island students.

“It makes me happy to see the kids, some very interested, perfectly build the instruments. That makes me happy,” he said. “We chose the song we’re going to perform, ‘La Bamba.’ It’s well-known and easy for them to do, because I want to keep the excitement with them so they can remember later.”

Mercer Island High School will host its Arts Showcase April 5-6, featuring visual arts the first night and performing arts the following evening.