A chorus of children’s thrilled screams filled the gymnasium as the lights dimmed Friday at Incarnate Word Academy in Brownsville.
Then came silence as the crowd spotted Principal Michael Camarillo lift three fingers in the shape of a “W”.
Soon after, the annual Trashionista was underway, for the first time in years as the COVID-19 pandemic forced social distance protocols and cancellations across the Rio Grande Valley and globe.
With pounding dance music, students took to the runway in discarded items creatively repurposed into Olympic-themed sports wear. The first on the stage, Valeria Alcantera and Sebastian Jaramilla sported black plastic and HEB reusable plastic shopping bags that were reformed into tennis uniforms.
Group by group, students ranging from Pre-K to middle school ages walked, twirled and posed in costumes representative of volleyball, soccer, bobsledding, basketball, archery, and more—and sporting events from the summer and winter games.
“Every outfit you see out there is related to a theme, even boxing,” Camarillo said. “So many of these outfits are made out of plastics, papers, cans, and reusable bags.”
The students recycle items year-round on the campus, which pledged during the pandemic to eliminate all uses of styrofoam in its cafeterias. For the show, students found items such as lunch bags at school or trash from home—inside kitchens or even garages—to provide the materials needed to participate in the trash-centered fashion show.
“Kids are very creative,” Camarillo said. “Things they took from their bedroom and so on, and put it all together.”
The message of the day was to recycle.
“It’s also about how to take care of our environment,” Camarillo said, “how to plan for the future accordingly in a world where the population keeps growing, as well as how we hear about global warming. This brings awareness to how the things we throw away on a daily basis can be used to give us shelter and clothing—and maybe start a new industry.
“Believe it or not, some of the parents here recycle and have companies where the recycle items to provide other items to try to make a living out of it, and actually provide other industries and jobs for people out there who are in need.”
Earth Day, which was Friday, was a chance to revive the annual tradition, a program that raised funds for the school and educated students and family on the environmental impact of recycling goods.
“When you use a plastic bottle, you should recycle that, because in 39 days that plastic bottle will be on the shelf again (instead of a landfill),” said Rose Timmer, speaking at the event on behalf of Healthy Communities of Brownsville. “When you use a piece of paper, you should recycle that. It can be shredded and made into more paper and helps save trees.”
Everything people can do to help the environment—whether for the rivers, oceans or lands—is appreciated in Brownsville, Timmer told the crowd.
“It’s very important that you recycle, reduce, and reuse,” Timmer said. “And the best thing you can do is refuse. You can refuse that plastic bag. You can refuse the straw or the plastic forks and knives you get with your outgoing meals. Those are important steps.
“But you’ve done the best,” she told the crowd. “You’ve stopped the styrofoam from going into our landfill.”
