Heritage Month Closing Ceremony Celebrates Familia

Boston College closed Hispanic Heritage Month with a night full of music, dancing, and most importantly, familia.

Noche de Sabor! Latin Cultural Show!, put on by the AHANA Student Programs Office, the Organization of Latin American Affairs (OLAA), Casa Hispanica, and Bienvenidos, took place last Friday, Oct. 14 in Gasson 100. The show marked the end of BC's third annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

"Our goals were to promote awareness, appreciation, and understanding of Latino cultures, contributions, and experiences for the benefit of all members of the BC community; to encourage mutual respect for diversity of all people; and to foster the positive growth of Latino students in developing and establishing their identity," said Ines Maturana Sendoya, director of AHANA student programs.

Friday's show began with the "Desfile de Nuestros Paises," or "Parade of Our Countries," in which BC students carried flags representing the world's Hispanic countries. The show featured performances from BC groups B.E.A.T.S. and Sexual Chocolate, as well as outside groups Salsa y Control, Bajucol-Ballet Folklorico Juvenil Colombiano, Flamenco Boston, who talked about the multicultural history of flamenco dancing, and Camelia Latin Jazz band, who started a dance party with their tropical tunes and a request for audience members to find a partner and dance.

Outside at intermission, guests snacked on empanadas, Cuban sandwiches, plantains, and cake, while admiring a table of T-shirts, handed out at the end of the show, that read, "Being Latino is…"

"There are so many answers, but that's the point of the dot dot dot," said Andrea Lopez, a member of the event's steering committee and CSON '14. "But I'd say being Latino is 24/7 happiness."

Cristian Lopez, a member of the steering committee and CSOM '14, said, "It's being proud of your culture and celebrating that everyone is different."

In her opening remarks, Sendoya offered her own explanation of what it means to be Latino: "…creating familia wherever we go and giving sabor."

Felicia Garcia, A&S '14, seemed somewhat unsure of how easily this sense of community could be created, however. "I feel like people here stick with what they know," she said of integration at BC.

But familia and sabor — family and flavor — are actually the perfect words to describe the night. Noche de Sabor! attracted a fairly diverse audience of students, alumni, staff, and administrators this year, something Jorge Miranda, student co-chair of the steering committee and A&S '13, considered extremely important. "Our commitment to creating events that encompassed Latino culture while continuing to emphasize the importance of attracting the entire BC community really paid off this year," he said.