American University’s student organizations hosted open mic nights, celebrations, and dancing to bring cultural traditions to and celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, which runs from Sept. 15 and Oct 15. Student leaders said they believe these events help expose and educate students at AU to different Hispanic cultures, and are a great way to create spaces for people to celebrate and share their backgrounds.
Open mic night at The Bridge
The AU Student Union Board, Center for Student Belonging and Students for Change hosted an open mic night at the bridge at Sept. 25. Students sang, rapped, played guitar and performed poetry in front of the crowd.
Gabriela Winston, a first-year public health major, said she enjoys events like the open mic night.
“I think they bring people together and have people celebrate different cultures and kind of make them appreciate them a lot more in seeing the beauty in them,” she said.
Bachata y Horchata at The Bridge
At Bachata y Horchata, students had an evening of bachata dancing at The Bridge and sipping Horchata. The event was run by the Epsilon Alpha chapter of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Inc. on Oct. 1.
Nasaiah Algarin, a junior and the alumni relations chair for the Epsilon Alpha, said these events tailor to the growing Latino community at AU.
“I think it’s important that we bring awareness to these cultural events and these cultural activities, to show the students that are coming to campus that identify with a Latin or Hispanic background, or that don’t and are allies, to show how we serve our community and how we engage our community,” he said.
Junior Yohanna Mbedgue said events like Bachata y Horchata help create a space where students can celebrate where they come from.
“At the end of the day, they are celebrating their culture. They’re celebrating where they come from,” she said. “They’re celebrating their background with a lot of pride, and I highly appreciate that.”
Making mosaic tiles
Students were able to make mosaic tiles at The Bridge on Oct. 8, at an event run by the Mexican Cultural Club, AmLit and EGO Magazine.
Lorena Martinez, who serves as president of EGO Magazine and the Mexican Cultural Club, said these events give student organizations room to put their own twist on how they celebrate this month.
“I think having things like that that kind of give little insights to Hispanic cultures is really just beautiful, and a way of, like, sharing that with campus,” she said.
The Terrace Dining Room takeover
Epsilon Alpha and AU Kitchen brought Hispanic cultural food, such as churros, tres leches and horchata, to TDR for a dinner celebration on Oct. 15, the end of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Sam Levi, a first-year student, said events like the TDR takeover with student organizations like the Epsilon Alpha help build awareness.
“It just brings people together and learning about different traditions and different cultures,” he said. “People who aren’t Hispanic can learn about these Hispanic cultures, or try Hispanic food.”
Nohe Mercado, president of Epsilon Alpha, said having these events can expose students to different cultures.
“I feel like specifically at American University, it definitely broadens the perspective of a lot of narrow-minded individuals, and not in a negative way,” he said. “In just a general way, where people don’t really know enough about our cultures, or aren’t as exposed.”
Correction: The third photo features Gabriela Winston, a first-year public health major who attended the Sept. 25 open mic night. A previous version of the photo essay erroneously included content from an interview with Bella Hodge underneath Winston’s photo.
Edited by Ben Ackman, Natalie Monga and Kalie Walker.
