• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Berlyn Ortega, a second year American literature and culture student, rehearsed with the Ladies (

The Latin American Student Association, in an effort to expose and share the different aspects of Latin American culture, will have a free outdoor festival this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. in Wilson Plaza.

The seventh-annual Festival Latino includes an exhibition of Latino culture through live music performance, traditional food, dance, art and arts-and-crafts activities for children. A renowned merengue orchestra group from New York, Oro Solido, headlines the festival.

“We are recognized as Latin Americans, united by the Spanish language and the shared experience of being conquered peoples,” said Rosemarie Lerma, a third-year political science and Chicana/o studies student and festival codirector. “What unites us is the richness of our experience, our foods and our love of music. We love the culture and take pride in who we are. What LASA is trying to do is to bring out that sentiment through Festival Latino.”

Musical performers gather from all walks of Latin America to perform at Festival Latino. Groups include Mariachi Alma del Sol, Orquesta Charangoa (a salsa group), Son Mayor (a merengue orchestra) and Hermanos Herrera (playing norteno music), a group of three brothers who are UCLA students.

“We’re bringing the whole community together through the music by bringing Mexican bands, Central American bands, even bands from California,” said Tony Gutierrez, a fifth-year sociology and psychology student.

Several dance groups will also perform on stage, engaging in traditional and modern Latin American dance. The festival features the association’s student-run dance troupes, including the Salsa Troupe, the Ladies (hip-hop) Troupe, and the Merengue Troupe.

“The Merengue Troupe has been together since fall quarter, with weekly practices and rehearsals,” said Luis Hernandez, a third-year sociology student, Festival Latino coordinator and Merengue Troupe participant. “We like to go out there, dance and represent LASA. Merengue is pretty big in my home country, Nicaragua, and the music has always caught my attention. Getting together to express Latino American culture through the art of dancing is a new thing to me.”

The music tuned to the dance is a vital part of the performance, according to those involved in the process. While the dancers represent Latin American culture through movement in tradition and modernity, the music showcases its essential elements in a way similar to that of a mix tape.

“The music for the troupes is taken from popular Latin American songs,” said Gutierrez. “We cut it up, mix it up, and record it. Everyone in the community listens to these songs daily. It’s part of our culture, instrumental in our way of life. This festival is the pinnacle of it all: It brings it all together in one day-long festival.”