Mike Thompson
Brilliant colors, sexy dances and talented acts took center stage at Stewart Theatre last night as students from N.C. State, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill came together to share their love for their Latino culture.
Mi Familia and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers sponsored their third annual culture night Feb. 21 in Talley Student Center. Students exhibited a variety of talents, which included everything from acoustic guitar performances of traditional Latino music to traditional Latino dances.
This year’s program was called “Somos…Latinos,” which translates, “We are…Latinos.” Intended to display a unique blend of traditional Spanish culture, the program focused on the diversity of the different areas of South America and how this diversity contributed to the Latino culture.
“There’s a lot of stereotypes you know, it’s all the tacos and beans,” Amanda Davila, a junior in zoology and the president of Mi Familia, said. “Really there’s so much more.”
She said, as an example, the poem “Piececitos,” read by Valentina Daly, a junior in criminology, was written by the first Hispanic Nobel Prize winner, Gabriela Mistral.
“It’s more about educating the audience,” Davila said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, have people aware that there are 21 Latin countries, you know, they’re all different in every way and it’s not what people usually think.”
Along with the poetry reading were a few musical performances, two of which were by students from Duke and UNC-CH.
However, not all of the students involved in the event have a Hispanic heritage. One of the performances was by an alumnus, Joel Manchego, and a Spanish and international studies major, Kelley Morgan.
“We have a lot of people that are not Hispanic at all so it’s really good that they’ll do that,” Davila said.
The real stars of the show, though, were the dancers. The Dance Group of the Peruvian Association of North Carolina performed two traditional Peruvian dances, while members of Tango North Carolina danced three sultry Tangos.
Ashley Bucholz, a junior in Spanish, said it was her first time attending the program, and was very glad she went.
“I thought it was great,” she said. “That [Tango dancing] was my favorite; that was the greatest.”
Mariana Munhoz Silva, a junior in psychology, is a member of the Dance Group of the Peruvian Association of North Carolina. She is originally from Brazil, and she said she got involved in dancing because of her boyfriend, who is from Peru. She said it wasn’t too hard to learn.
“I joined them because he was doing it and I wanted to do it. And I’ve been with them for a little [more than] a year,” she said. “When I started they were just starting it too so we learned the steps together.”
They practice every Sunday, and although it is a two-hour practice, she said she doesn’t mind.
“I mean, it’s two hours of my weekend, but it’s definitely worth it,” Silva said. “It’s fun, everybody is great; we’re all friends.”
Oscar Faria, a junior in engineering, is the president of SHPE and said he feels the program went very well, despite having a few problems organizing it, such as a shortage of labor.
Davila said she agreed, and that she was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the night.
“We had a couple people quit last minute but we pulled it off,” she said. “People came through, and I didn’t expect it to come out that well, but it came out really, really [well] and I’m just excited.”
Faria said he feels they achieved their intended purpose in putting on the program.
“The aspects we wanted to show were our culture and trying to eliminate our stereotypes,” Faria said. “I think it turned out very well, very successful.”