Masuk Free Press

Last night, Masuk hosted its 16th Latin Night. Students, staff and citizens of Monroe gathered to celebrate their shared Hispanic heritages.

Lasting until October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated all around the United States. Latin Night accentuates this month with a day of Hispanic appreciation—it empowers students of Hispanic descent, and allows them to freely express their cultures!

The event originated in Bridgeport, envisioned by coordinator Joel Castillo, who supported the ideas of Hispanic students when they craved representation of their community. “When I was in Bridgeport, years ago in 2001, students approached me because the DJ at the school parties wasn’t really playing Latin music. And so they said, can we do a dance for us? And it just so happened to be Hispanic Heritage Month, so I said let’s do it.” 

The event followed Joel Castillo to Masuk, where he proposed the idea after noticing the same representation issue. It gained popularity gradually, and in the past five years, Latin Night has been an inviting and electric event celebrating cultural diversity amongst Hispanic countries. “We live in a community where we want to promote diversity, and we want people who are of a diverse background to be proud,” said Joel Castillo. 

“It shares different, diverse traditions with different Latin American countries, and I think that’s really special,” said sophomore Sara Milian Cordova, who has attended for the past two years. “It’s a good thing we have [Latin Night] because it honors the differences we all have,” said Cordova.

Hispanic identities at Masuk are also diverse in their personal meanings. “Being Hispanic…the first thing that comes to my mind is a sense of family,” said Joel Castillo.

Freshman Santiago Alonso said, “Being Hispanic to me means despite all the hate and all the things that have come through, it’s truly being proud of Latin America.” Alonso noted that during the World Cup, “everybody rushed the Angel Independence Statue in Mexico,” highlighting how it’s, “the intensity of patriotism that brings us together.”

Therefore, Latin Night aims at sharing the many cultures with its non-Hispanic students, as well. “Latin Night allows for us not just to have a student centered activity, but a community centered activity where everybody can take part in the culture and learn about how diverse Monroe actually is,” said Jayson Castillo. “We want to make those bridges and those connections and say, yeah, we’re actually a lot more similar than we envisioned.” Additionally, he says, “The beauty of Latin America is that it really does comprise of dozens of cultures. We can’t just pinpoint and narrow it down to just one predominant culture. It’s a melting pot of African, indigenous roots. There’s European contributions as well. It’s a fusion!”

Students themselves share opinions on why non-Hispanics should still strive to attend the event. Sophomore Aysha Diaz Guzman said, “It helps shape people in being more open-minded and even just have fun in a way they may have never experienced before.” Guzman believes that it allows a fresh perspective to penetrate what they already know.

Students themselves share opinions on why non-Hispanics should still strive to attend the event. Sophomore Aysha Diaz Guzman said, “It helps shape people in being more open-minded and even just have fun in a way they may have never experienced before.” Guzman believes that it allows a fresh perspective to penetrate what they already know.

Alonso emphasizes this point. “Expanding your horizons and expanding your knowledge about other types of people, will always help you connect with others and help you have a deeper understanding of who they are.” The appreciation of other cultures at Latin Night makes students more empathetic towards differences, creating a stronger community at Masuk as well as the world.

Even Lauren Iverson, head of the world languages department, shared how Hispanic culture has shaped her. “I kind of learned that as I went through in all the different countries that every single country has its own sort of celebration that is more exciting than what we’re already used to. And I have so much fun learning those things,” said Iverson. “Language is part of our identity and I love learning about other people and connecting with other people because it makes it easier to talk to each other,” said Iverson. She agrees that Latin Night itself makes students more empathetic.

Latin Night aims for representation, but due to the extensive amount of cuisines, it’s very difficult to fit them all in one celebration. Every year students are very excited to see what foods are going to be featured at Latin Night.

Freshman Marcelo Valecillos shared, “[Venezuelan] food is really good. Pabellón is my favorite.” He looked forward to seeing his culture represented and shared with other nations.

“Every Latin American country has their own little nuances and their own little specialties…cuisine and music among other things allow us to bring that [culture] to the forefront,” said Jayson Castillo. Allowing various food and music to be represented at an event like this highlights the community that one dish can bring!

At the event itself, a plethora of delicious meals were served, including pollo guisado con arroz blanco (stewed chicken with white rice), chicken and beef empanadas, and coquitos helado—creamy coconut and passionfruit ice cream in served in a mini cup. Latin Night serves as an opportunity to shift the perspective of the young minds at Masuk.

Through music, cuisine and inclusivity it creates an inviting atmosphere of pure positivity. Alonso said, “Now, everything feels so negative [in the world]. Having a sense of community of people that you can rely on at the end of the day is, I think, something that makes Masuk so great.” 

Joel Castillo also hopes that the impacts of this event won’t stop at Hispanic culture. “I’m hoping that this event may trigger other students of other backgrounds to say: we would love to have an event to celebrate our culture too.” This yearly celebration of culture introduces everyone: every group, tradition and ethnicity to this event, highlighting the importance of having a diverse attendance at Latin Night.