Photos by Ahrefa Ali
By Roxanna Cardenas Colmenares
On October 17, the Dominican Student Association (DSA) and Mexican Student Association (MEXSA) celebrated the second annual Herencia Hispana Cultural Showcase with music, food, and conversations about the many resources available for Latinx students on City College’s (CCNY) campus.
The event opened with a presentation by Emma Herrera, DSA’s Executive Advisor, and Sammely Perez, MEXSA’s Social Media Manager, where they spoke about the events ech club organizes to build community, helping Hispanic students to feel that they belong at CCNY. DSA brings people together with their Domino tournaments while MEXSA does the same with their Loteria game nights. With these and many more events, both clubs advocate for the Latin community’s growth and celebration. The representatives also emphasized that although their clubs celebrate Dominican and Mexican culture, respectively, students from all backgrounds are welcome to join.
They also mentioned the important work organizations such as the Latin American Engineering Student Association (LAESA-SHPE), Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), and Dream Team do. The speakers highlighted that ALPFA was founded this semester, organizing mentorship programs and networking events. Having just begun, the association has already gained 80 members, which speaks to Latinx students’ interest in professional growth.
To close the opening remarks, Andrew Rich, Dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership gave a speech about the importance of the Hispanic community at CCNY, a demographic that he said is not celebrated enough.
DSA, MEXSA, the Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Program, and all other Latino-focused clubs on campus want to change that, making sure to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month until the very end. Herrera from DSA told The Paper that the Herencia Hispana Cultural Showcase is “to bring different cultures together and [to] make sure we are all represented and learn about each other.” Likewise, Perez from MEXSA mentioned that they organize these events because they “want to make our community thrive.” These clubs and organizations initially came together because of the LALS Program’s idea to connect Latin club leaders. This makes the showcase a result of collaborative work between many people who care about Latinx representation and celebration on CCNY’s campus.
After all the formalities, the party started with beautiful poetry read by Alexa Eulogio Victoriano, the Vice President of Dream Team. The poem titled “Carrying the Dream Across Borders” enchanted the audience with inspirational lines about the many dreams immigrants come to this country with, the many ways we share our culture, and the nostalgia only known to those who continue “dreaming of the families they left behind.” After the touching read, the arts showcase continued with Dominican folklore when two dancers performed for the attendees. The male dancer with his sombrero de paja and the female dancer who swung her blue silk skirt to the clapping rhythm executed a joyful dance to witness.
After the showcase, it was time to dig in. As with many good Latin American block parties, there was plenty of food to share. The attendees delighted in some mangú, arroz con habichuela, pernil, pastelitos, and many more Hispanic staples. Watery mouths while in line turned into happy smiles after the first bite. The event ended with more music and a dance performance by the award-winning Ballet Estampas Folkloricas Mexicanas, where two dancers moved their colorful trajes típicos to Mexican folklore music.
In the end, the showcase mirrored the colorful, flavorful, and joyful essence of Latin American culture while showing how much they care about diversity, inclusivity, and community. Everyone pulled up to the celebration, even Benny the Beaver who danced bachata and held the Dominican and Mexican flags almost as high as Latin America’s pride.
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