The tones of Norteñas music filled the fourth floor of the USU on Thursday, Sept. 15 during the Latin@ Center’s Heritage Month Kick-off event, Norteñas on the Terrace.

The event gave students an opportunity to experience Norteñas (Spanish for northern music) for the first time while others got the chance to revisit a few familiar tunes.     

As the band Los Jamaikinos began to play “Tragos de Amargo Licor,” students cheered and began to sing and dance along, as they did with many other songs.

The event not only celebrated the upcoming Latinx Heritage Month, but also the first anniversary of the Latin@ Center’s opening.

The Latin@ Center, located on the third floor of the USU, has held several events in an effort to educate, entertain and welcome those both within and outside of Latin American Culture.

Peer coaches Daniel Conseco-Chavez, Javier Jara and Karina Ibarra are among the team of students who put together each of the center’s events such as the Dia de los Meurtos candy skull workshop and history lesson and Voces de Oaxaca, a discussion about the tragedy and struggles people face in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Ibarra said she sees the events as an enjoyable way of educating and spreading information about topics that students, normally, would know nothing about.

“It’s all fun and games but we also try to tie in that educational theme to everything that we do because we do want to educate our students,” said Ibarra.

Conseco-Chavez said such education is not limited to these events either. The center offers an array of resources which benefit students both during and after they have graduated, as well as resources for those trying to gain U.S. citizenship.

“We have a lot of information on immigration resources … So if you need help with becoming a citizen, we have information on how to do that,” said Conseco-Chavez. “We have information about jobs and scholarships, internships and post grad services and grad schools as well.”

Other than the desire to educate and reach out to more students on campus, Jara said he hopes that the center expands physically.

“We’ve kind of already outgrown this in a sense that we’re bursting at the seams … I feel kind of bad because we don’t like to turn people away… It’s one of my dreams that maybe somewhere down the line we get a bigger place,” said Jara.

A limited amount of room, however, does not limit the center’s ability to work and grow.

“The magic of a little space is we are proof that you don’t need a big space to do a lot, to expand into the community the way we have,” said Director Maria Mendoza-Bautista.

The continued success and passion behind the Latin@ Center has made this year priceless to Mendoza-Bautista.

“I just want the students to graduate, to walk to the stage, to know that a space like this has given them that support and that love that they deserve. And that is invaluable. There’s no price ticket on that.”

Glance Box:

For more information, visit the Latin@ Center in USU 3300 on the third floor.