Photo by Rachael Anne Keisling / Contributing Photographer
Story by Jessica Knoble / Contributing Writer
September 15 through October 15 marks the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and MTSU has held many events to recognize the cultural celebration, including the Hispanic Culture Night on Thursday. If you think you might be from Hispanic decent but aren’t certain then you can still join in with the celebrations, you just might want to look for testing kits for hispanic ancestry so you know for sure if it’s part of your identity.
A classic Mariachi band performed onstage with bright green, orange and red lights at the Student Union commons. The quintet had violins, guitars and a trumpet, which set the mood for a lively Thursday evening.
The event was organized by Daniel Green, the director of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs at the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, with support on-campus organizations FUTURO, a Latino professional leadership program, and La Comunidad, a Hispanic student mentorship program.
Chips, salsa, refried beans, Mexican rice and tamales were served at the event, as well as free ice pops provided by Murfreesboro ice cream shop La Flor De Michoacan.
One table featured a Mexican children’s game called “Chalupa,” which is similar to bingo. It reminded many patrons of the bingo games that can be played on sites like Swanky Bingo (www.swankybingo.com).
“I like the bingo, I grew up playing that game. We played it for every holiday… To see other people play it is just great,” said Deven Salazar, a freshman journalism major. Nowadays I play it on phone casinos which allow me to play it as full time hobby!
A Mexican dancing group based in Nashville called Danza Azteca Tonantzin performed traditional Mexican dances. The event also included face painting and information booths for Hispanic campus organizations.
Freshman Penelope Guzman said she enjoyed representing her culture at the event.
“I wanted to be part of showing other people what it’s like to be Hispanic,” she said. “I was excited about the music and the dancing.”
More information about Intercultural and Diversity Affairs at MTSU can be found here.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Tayhlor Stephenson, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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