By: Nicole Bernstein/Staff Writer
The University is number one in the country for awarding bachelor’s and master’s degrees to Hispanic students. In order to fully indulge in the culture that these students possess, there are clubs and other organizations that were created for Hispanic students.
The fraternity Lambda Upsilon Lambda, also known as La Unidad Latina, held the University’s first annual Latin Fest 2011 in the Graham Center on Thursday, Sept. 21.
Richard Benitez, president of La Unidad Latina, recently got the idea for this event and decided to put it into effect.
He said the reasons for holding this event were to promote campus life, have a fun event in the heart of GC, bring together different types of Hispanic people and to have students simply enjoy themselves before midterms.
Of course, giving every student at GC the ability to eat a delicious plate of arroz con pollo and plantains was part of his plan in wanting to send everyone home with a full belly.
Students were more than thrilled to get a free meal; for many, it reminded them of home.
Although there were minimal comments made about the food not being hot enough, it did not seem to interfere with people cleaning up their plates, or the lemonade, which proved to be a hit. It seemed that Latin Fest 2011 brought together many different Latin students as well as many of their friends to enjoy the Latin culture and, of course, Latin cooking.
Freshman Jake Munoz, studying architecture, said, “I decided to come because I’m from Ecuador and wanted to meet others that share something in common with me.” Munoz brought along some of his friends, including freshman Ronald Washington, who is majoring in liberal studies. Although Washington is not of Latin descent, he tagged along with his friend and was thankful for the free food.
Alvaro Ortiz Lopez, a junior studying economics, recently transferred from Miami Dade College and heard about Latin Fest 2011 through one of his friends. Lopez was excited to meet more Latin people, and concluded that the night had good music, but he was most impressed with the University’s diverse clubs.
Other than the typical Latin meal being served, DJs Alex and Valentino were keeping the whole festival upbeat.
Alex, who has been a DJ for about 15 years, explained that they include videos at all their gigs. As they played hit after hit, they got a few people dancing in the middle of GC. The loud music and the aroma of good food had done a great deal in attracting students in GC.
Overall, the first annual Latin Fest promoted campus life well, bringing together different types of people, Latin or not. A couple dozen students participated in Latin Fest 2011, and it is hoped that if funds are available, there will be more Latin Fests to come. Hopefully, more students will participate as years go on so that Latin Fest can become an annual event for the University.
Benitez specified that his main goal was to promote Latin togetherness because there are so many different types of Latin people.
La Unidad Latina is known as la unidad para siempre, meaning it is a unity that lasts forever; within the first month of the 2011 Fall semester, the fraternity has proved this unity as true.
Latin Fest 2011 was a success in the sense that it brought together different types of Latin people in a fun and safe environment. In a city that is about 65 percent Hispanic, it is important to keep the culture intact, and Latin Fest 2011 did its part in doing so for the students at the University.
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