The Coalition of Latinx Student Organizations celebrated the end of Stamp Student Union’s Latine Heritage Month events with their annual closing gala on Friday evening.
The gala included food and dance performances in Stamp’s Colony Ballroom and featured keynote speaker Katty Huertas, a designer and art director at the Washington Post. The gala was the final event hosted by the coalition in Stamp’s Latine Heritage Month events, which took place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
Circular tables lined the sides and back of the room, with lollipop and chocolate favors at every seat. The large space in the center of the room was used for performances and dancing throughout the night.
[Lorde stuns with powerful visuals, energy at the ‘Ultrasound’ tour]
The coalition’s theme for this year’s heritage month was “Juntos Bajo el Sol y la Luna,” which translates to “Together Under the Sun and Moon.”
“We work in collaboration with other [organizations] … that’s the mission of CLSO,” said Katherine Beza, the coalition’s co-president and junior fire protection engineering major. “Having these events is a way of connecting with my community and giving back.”
Beza said she experienced culture shock coming to the University of Maryland as a freshman, even with the knowledge that it’s a predominantly white institution.
She said she went to the coalition’s heritage month events her first year and became a part of the organization after finding out they planned a variety of events to celebrate the month.
Beza said the attendee numbers were smaller after the pandemic, but have grown every year. She said the increase is a testament to the work the coalition has done to “cultivate this community.”
Despite their large scale, Beza said all the organization’s events are free for attendees.
“[The events are] not exclusive for Latinos, either — it’s for anyone who’s looking for a community who wants to celebrate our heritage,” she said.
Many attendees at the gala were members of the 13 organizations co-sponsoring the event. Brianna Acosta Citala, president of the Latinx Student Union, said she and other students were looking forward to the event because of how much work is put into it.
“Hosting events … means bringing the Latino community on campus, even though it’s small, to unite together and become bigger throughout it all,” the senior psychology major said.
[Embrace your inner theater kid with these Halloween musicals]
Acosta Citala said many of the events hosted by the coalition and other organizations are also attended by faculty and local community members.
Bianca Gutierrez, a senior public policy major, is a member of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc., another co-sponsor of the gala.
Gutierrez said although many people that come to events like the gala are Latino, she hopes people who are not are able to get a sense of the community. “I personally really appreciate Hispanic Heritage Month, and I think with everything going on now, it’s really important to spread that awareness and spread that culture,” Gutierrez said.
