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The recently ended Hispanic Heritage Month has been one of celebration, awareness, and pride. The beauty of Latino communities is one of many identities, and each Hispanic culture has similarities and differences. Despite our differences, we all share the vital significance of family and community, and the elements that bring us together, like music, dance, and food. Our individuality and uniqueness carry such beauty in various sizes, shapes, and shades. This month, we not only educated ourselves and others about our culture, but we also celebrated its journey and everything that came before it, and connected with our roots.
For Hispanic Heritage Month, the Office of Diversity and Belonging, the Office of International Engagement, SMAC, SAAC, Global Club, and SALT came together to hold an event called Unidos en Fiesta. It was a night where students from different backgrounds came together to celebrate with great food and music. This event included educational conversations and interpretations of Bomba and its history in music and dance. In the illustration of Bomba, our very own students had the opportunity to participate in singing the songs and learning choreography. We had the chance to gather as a community of staff and students in a space that allowed us to embrace, appreciate, and learn about cultures that some may or may not have been exposed to before.
This month has been of great significance to me as an Afro-Latina, because I’ve had the opportunity to share my own culture with others through music, dance, and food. In doing so, I was able to host a discussion panel as part of SMAC, which allowed us to showcase different Hispanic cultures, including Puerto Rican, Dominican, Panamanian, Mexican, and Spanish. In this panel, we had a group of Roberts staff and students – Yoscaira Gomez, Alberta Morales-Gonzalez, Alex Perez Vega, Alexsis Hernandez, and Cristina Gonzalez-Simarro Rubio – discuss their life experiences and answer questions about their heritage. In reflecting on this month, it’s been one of celebration, and a time of sharing cultural traditions and embracing each other’s uniqueness and individuality.
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