Celebrating Hispanic Heritage – Ahlana Smith & Jonneshia Pineda’s Stories
October 14, 2021 | Women's Basketball
National Hispanic American Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15th to October 15th. During this month, we recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success.
We are proud to have Louisville women's basketball's senior guard Ahlana Smith and assistant coach Jonneshia Pineda tell their stories and what their heritage means to them.
Ahlana Smith
Growing up in Connecticut and being around my mother's side of the family for much of my upbringing has played a huge role in defining what I call Spanish culture. From the food, to the Puerto Rican day parades held in New Haven, Conn., to the common beliefs in Puerto Rican culture, they all mean so much to me.
My grandfather, Jose Morales Padilla moved to the United States in 1983 and two years later, my mother, Rosa Morales, was born.
For me, it was a frustrating, but interesting experience to grow up in an environment where Spanish was the primary language. I will always remember when I was younger that I would understand certain phrases and different words depending on the context in which it was spoken. For example, if my grandmother was speaking and mentioned something but had an attitude or a certain look on her face, even though I didn't comprehend exactly what she was saying, I knew she meant business. Surprisingly, I learned most of my basic Spanish this way.
Puerto Rican food is rooted in cooking traditions from Europe and Africa. Rice, beans, pork, and plantains are all common foods that are typically served when eating dinner at my house. Empanadillas, pasteles, pernil, and arroz con gandules are just a few delicious Puerto Rican dishes that were introduced to me when I was younger and are dishes that I will always love.
Growing up, I remember participating in the Puerto Rican day parades that took place in downtown New Haven. This annual event celebrated and honored the culture that we are proud to be a part of. This was cool to me because I was surrounded by so many people who felt like family, but were complete strangers. And that really personalized the understanding that we as Puerto Ricans, we stick together, always.
This past summer I was granted the opportunity to try out for the U23 Puerto Rican national team and this was one of the greatest experiences I've encountered in my life. Not only was I able to play the sport I love with women who share the same heritage, but I was able to connect with the culture on a deeper level by being on the island. This was my first time in Puerto Rico, and I was very pleased with my stay. It was amazing to wake up to the waves and bright sun every day, to learn from professionals on the court and to meet some of my family members that live on the island.
My time in Puerto Rico was truly a life-changing experience for me.
I have always been proud to be Puerto Rican. However, being Puerto Rican means so much more to me than just the food. As Puerto Ricans, we have a true sense of family and we love each other deeply, and that is the aspect of my heritage that I am most proud of.
Jonneshia Pineda
Jonneshia (left) with her father Johnny and brother Chris.
When I was little, my father Johnny and I were, as my mother Antoinette would say, "closer than close." We had a very special bond.
But, tragically my father was taken away from me just four years into my life. He had been murdered.
And me, even at just four years old, I knew something was wrong that day as I had to be checked out of preschool because I couldn't stop being visibly upset.
My intuition told me something was wrong and unfortunately, my life would forever be altered that day.
I knew that my father and his family had moved here from Bogota, Colombia when he was young, and because of that my Colombian heritage had always been important to me.
However, as I got older, it became more and more essential for me to ask those super important questions, like 'why did my family move here in the first place?'
My father, along with his mother Rosalba, sisters Rosa, Tammy and Rosarito and brother Jamie made the dangerous journey to the United States in 1980 when my father was in high school. Bogota had become more and more riddled with crime, violence and poverty and they made the trip north seeking a better life.
So they moved to Miami. Then my father met my mother Antoinette, who is from the Bahamas, at Coral Gables High School. They were each other's first love!
Even after my father's death, because I was closely surrounded by the rest of my family, we celebrated many Colombian holidays and traditions. We opened Christmas presents at midnight on Christmas Eve. We ate rice, beans, steak, platinos and arepas at Thanksgiving dinner. We celebrated several Quinceañeras, which marks a woman's passage into womanhood on her 15th birthday.
In addition to those holidays, the food that I grew up with because of my family is something that is very important to me. One way for me to tap into my heritage now is through my cooking.
I love to cook Colombian food and my specialty is Sancocho. Sancocho is a stew that is made of large pieces of beef, yucca potatoes, mixed veggies and a little cilantro, onion and cumin. Give me some sancocho, along with a Colombiana la nuetra kola flavored soda, and sometimes that is all I need to immediately transport myself back home with my family.
But, it's funny, not everything Colombian is for me. All of my family, as do most Colombians, loves café con leche. I do not. I'm just not a coffee drinker. But, my abuela Rosalba is always quick to remind me that because of my distaste for café con leche that, "you are not Colombian, you are American."
And you know what…she is right. I am American. And that is a blessing. I'm blessed that my father, along with the rest of my family, made that epic voyage to the United States. Because now, I realize that not only were they seeking a better life for themselves, but they were seeking a better life for those of us that came after them. For that, I am forever grateful.
Because of their sacrifice, it makes it even more important for me to be successful with the opportunities they provided me. I hope I am making them proud with what I have done with my career. I also hope that I am making them proud as I strive for my Colombian citizenship and work to improve my Spanish speaking.
I know I am proud. I'm proud of my father. I'm proud of my family.
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
We are proud to have Louisville women's basketball's senior guard Ahlana Smith and assistant coach Jonneshia Pineda tell their stories and what their heritage means to them.
Ahlana Smith
Growing up in Connecticut and being around my mother's side of the family for much of my upbringing has played a huge role in defining what I call Spanish culture. From the food, to the Puerto Rican day parades held in New Haven, Conn., to the common beliefs in Puerto Rican culture, they all mean so much to me.
My grandfather, Jose Morales Padilla moved to the United States in 1983 and two years later, my mother, Rosa Morales, was born.
For me, it was a frustrating, but interesting experience to grow up in an environment where Spanish was the primary language. I will always remember when I was younger that I would understand certain phrases and different words depending on the context in which it was spoken. For example, if my grandmother was speaking and mentioned something but had an attitude or a certain look on her face, even though I didn't comprehend exactly what she was saying, I knew she meant business. Surprisingly, I learned most of my basic Spanish this way.
Puerto Rican food is rooted in cooking traditions from Europe and Africa. Rice, beans, pork, and plantains are all common foods that are typically served when eating dinner at my house. Empanadillas, pasteles, pernil, and arroz con gandules are just a few delicious Puerto Rican dishes that were introduced to me when I was younger and are dishes that I will always love.
Growing up, I remember participating in the Puerto Rican day parades that took place in downtown New Haven. This annual event celebrated and honored the culture that we are proud to be a part of. This was cool to me because I was surrounded by so many people who felt like family, but were complete strangers. And that really personalized the understanding that we as Puerto Ricans, we stick together, always.
This past summer I was granted the opportunity to try out for the U23 Puerto Rican national team and this was one of the greatest experiences I've encountered in my life. Not only was I able to play the sport I love with women who share the same heritage, but I was able to connect with the culture on a deeper level by being on the island. This was my first time in Puerto Rico, and I was very pleased with my stay. It was amazing to wake up to the waves and bright sun every day, to learn from professionals on the court and to meet some of my family members that live on the island.
My time in Puerto Rico was truly a life-changing experience for me.
I have always been proud to be Puerto Rican. However, being Puerto Rican means so much more to me than just the food. As Puerto Ricans, we have a true sense of family and we love each other deeply, and that is the aspect of my heritage that I am most proud of.
Jonneshia Pineda
When I was little, my father Johnny and I were, as my mother Antoinette would say, "closer than close." We had a very special bond.
But, tragically my father was taken away from me just four years into my life. He had been murdered.
And me, even at just four years old, I knew something was wrong that day as I had to be checked out of preschool because I couldn't stop being visibly upset.
My intuition told me something was wrong and unfortunately, my life would forever be altered that day.
I knew that my father and his family had moved here from Bogota, Colombia when he was young, and because of that my Colombian heritage had always been important to me.
However, as I got older, it became more and more essential for me to ask those super important questions, like 'why did my family move here in the first place?'
My father, along with his mother Rosalba, sisters Rosa, Tammy and Rosarito and brother Jamie made the dangerous journey to the United States in 1980 when my father was in high school. Bogota had become more and more riddled with crime, violence and poverty and they made the trip north seeking a better life.
So they moved to Miami. Then my father met my mother Antoinette, who is from the Bahamas, at Coral Gables High School. They were each other's first love!
Even after my father's death, because I was closely surrounded by the rest of my family, we celebrated many Colombian holidays and traditions. We opened Christmas presents at midnight on Christmas Eve. We ate rice, beans, steak, platinos and arepas at Thanksgiving dinner. We celebrated several Quinceañeras, which marks a woman's passage into womanhood on her 15th birthday.
In addition to those holidays, the food that I grew up with because of my family is something that is very important to me. One way for me to tap into my heritage now is through my cooking.
I love to cook Colombian food and my specialty is Sancocho. Sancocho is a stew that is made of large pieces of beef, yucca potatoes, mixed veggies and a little cilantro, onion and cumin. Give me some sancocho, along with a Colombiana la nuetra kola flavored soda, and sometimes that is all I need to immediately transport myself back home with my family.
But, it's funny, not everything Colombian is for me. All of my family, as do most Colombians, loves café con leche. I do not. I'm just not a coffee drinker. But, my abuela Rosalba is always quick to remind me that because of my distaste for café con leche that, "you are not Colombian, you are American."
And you know what…she is right. I am American. And that is a blessing. I'm blessed that my father, along with the rest of my family, made that epic voyage to the United States. Because now, I realize that not only were they seeking a better life for themselves, but they were seeking a better life for those of us that came after them. For that, I am forever grateful.
Because of their sacrifice, it makes it even more important for me to be successful with the opportunities they provided me. I hope I am making them proud with what I have done with my career. I also hope that I am making them proud as I strive for my Colombian citizenship and work to improve my Spanish speaking.
I know I am proud. I'm proud of my father. I'm proud of my family.
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballWBB: Jeff Walz Postgame Press Conference (Georgia Tech - 2/26/2026)
Friday, February 27
WBB: Georgia Tech Highlights (2/26/26)
Friday, February 27
WBB: Reyna Scott & Laura Ziegler Presser (Senior Day - 2/24/26)
Wednesday, February 25
WBB: Jeff Walz Preview Press Conference (Georgia Tech & Senior Day 2/24/26)
Wednesday, February 25
