The Rhodes College Latinx Student Association (LSA) held a ‘Noche De Celebración’ in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month on Oct. 24. The BCLC Ballroom was packed with Rhodes students and members from the community eager to celebrate and enjoy Latinx food, music and performance.

  Education was a major theme throughout the festivities. Assistant Professor of Music Francisco Lara in the Rhodes Latin American and Latinx Studies department, captivated the audience with a combination of history and song. His performance included instruments originating in the Andes, such as the percussion instrument Chajchas and the pan flute,  Zampoña in Spanish.

“My research focuses on the music, history and culture of Latin America, specifically Ecuador,” Lara said.

One of the first acts was a modern Latinx style dance performed by LSA members Brandon Lemus ’22 Dorian Canales ‘20, Melissa Hernandez ‘22, Linda Martinez ‘22 , choreographed by Kat Soto ’22 and Jessica Gonzalez ’22. The audience cheered as the group hit the stage, impressed by the combination of traditional and contemporary moves.

“My choreography for some of the routines was inspired by Cholo Cumbia,” Soto said. “I love it because it’s basically  LA meets Mexico.”

Although most of the dancers had no formal dance training, one would not have been able to tell unless you asked.

“I had never learned some of the dance moves beforehand but we practiced hard together for three weeks,” Lemus ’22 said.

The audience was treated to a performance by the stunning Ballet Folklórico Herencia Hispana, a group of young women who believe it is important to preserve the spirit of Mexican heritage and culture though traditional dance, dress, music and rhythms. The high point of the night was a performance by Danza Azteca Quetzalcoatl de Memphis, a traditional Aztec Dance group, who work to preserve and showcase the ritual of the sacred dance of the ancestral people in Mexico.

“I want to thank the Rhodes Latinx Student Association for inviting us here. Every time we have the opportunity to share and spread our knowledge, our roots of our ancestors of the Aztec empire, it is a great honor,” lead Danza Azteca member Refugio Pantoja said.

Serving as Latin Community Ambassadors in the Mid-south Area, the group had a crucial message for the diverse audience before the performance began.

“We are dedicating this performance to our brothers and sisters from Honduras and South America that are coming to look for a better future in this country, and to remember that humans are naturally nomads, immigration is a natural phenomenon,” Pantoja said. “Once a long time ago our ancestors belonged to this land of the North and they received a sign to look for a better future for our race, that is when we went from North to South. This phenomenon is repeating itself, today we are returning to the place that we left and this is happening by simply trying to look for a better future for our families. In Mexico there is a saying, ‘Once a place belongs to you with time it will become yours.’”