Celebración Latina
By Andrea Mariscal and Amanda Brandao Garbim
This past weekend, the Latino Student Alliance (LSA) put on the event, Celebración Latina. This spectacular celebration of the Latinx community was a formal event--students were able to dress up however they pleased, with beautiful gowns and tuxedos. We were allowed to show off our inner Latin-ness by dancing and singing along to the music. It was an inspiring event put together by the amazing LSA executive team. They invited a local DJ from Harrisonburg, a Latino comedian (Ernie G.), as well as awarded a local Harrisonburg student, Janefer Lobo Funez, with a $4000 scholarship. Let us start from the beginning of the night...
‘Feeling important’
The night started strong as we entered the decorated entrance with the big banner stating “Celebración Latina 2022.” It was a surreal feeling to see more than 20 tables set up for this event. I wish I could see this many Latinos gathering and celebrating each other on a daily basis. It felt like I was entering a quinceanera as the music was blaring in my ears and everyone greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek--I have not greeted someone like that in forever. It is a traditional form of greetings in the Latinx community. It felt nice doing it at JMU, incorporating my ethnic identity with my college identity. I always felt like I could not express myself with these traditional gestures or even speak about them. At a predominantly White Institution (PWI), it can be lonely when you are a minority, and events such as Celebración Latina address that loneliness.
Besides that, I greeted some faculty and friends as I walked over to my designated table. The attention to detail was amazing. We had a name tag on our seats with a description of the event. They served a salad at the beginning of the night to get the 3 courses started. The food was phenomenal! Once again, I could not be more proud of how detailed the event was. While we ate the entree, the guest speaker, Ernie G., a Latino comedian, opened up the conversation about being Latino. He talked about his experience with other Latino comedians and his upbringing. He discussed important topics about “being gotten” which is important to keep in mind. As Latinos, we often do not feel heard. Whether it is within our family, society, or friends, it can be hard to understand us. There are moments when someone hears us and we are understood, or “gotten.” He spoke about his struggles with his health as he suffered a heart attack in December of 2021, speaking on the importance of life and appreciating the little things, mentioning his son. It was a great talk and further emphasized what being Latino means.
Then we had a special dance group called Grupo Candela. This Latinx group practices weekly to prepare for upcoming events like Celebración Latina. They practice dances like Bachata, Merengue, and more, hosting workshops and dance lessons for those wanting to participate. Participants can try out and become part of the dance group. Grupe Candela performed three different dances in a three-minute choreography. It was beautifully performed and it was my favorite part of the night. The night continued and my LSA family and I took photos at the photo booth. We were able to take the photo home as it was printed immediately after it was taken to take home. It was a great way to have a token from the night.
Scholars Latino Initiative
The most important part of the night was the Latino Student Alliance scholarship, awarded to Janefer Lobo Funez, a member of the Scholars Latino Initiative. Janefer has been looking into different colleges and it was a great pleasure to offer this opportunity. I am the President of the Scholars Latino Initiative at JMU. The program has a majority of women membership, including both mentors and mentees. We empower women to realize their talents and intelligence. As Latina, we are taught our parent’s traditional position, but we encourage them to attend colleges they aspire to attend. We are happy to have supported Janefer in her process throughout her application process and guided her in her decision to attend college. Additionally, we work with the students to create a mentorship program through social and educational events. Through this work, we hope to establish strong relationships with the students, help them to become strong leaders within their community, and support them through the college process. We have held events like Paint the Sunset at Purcell Park, where we painted while talking with students about their experience as Latinos in Harrisonburg. We try to talk about important topics about being Latina/o/x in society and the school system. We hope to continue similar events and encourage relationship building throughout the next school year.
If you are interested in joining this amazing organization, please contact Andrea Mariscal-Guzman at mariscax@dukes.jmu.edu.
Why does it matter?
Celebración Latina is a big deal to the Latinx community within the JMU student body. The Latinx community tends to stay in the background as we are the minority within the student population. This major event showcased cultures within the Latinx community. JMU gave the Latino Student Alliance the ability to create an event where we can celebrate being latina/o/x. This is important for other Latinx students who may not be a member of LSA. LSA did an amazing job with incorporating the Latinx cultures within the music, food, and speaker. I think advertising the event more would be a great way to share who the Latinx community is. A suggestion could be adding different cultural groups from the Harrisonburg community. It could be Latin groups and leaders. This can show different perspectives as Harrisonburg has a large population of immigrants and refugees.
How is gender related to culture?
The socially constructed roles of genders are culturally determined, and differentiate not only over time but also place. Gender is a cultural and social construction, defined by the power relations between women and men, but more importantly the norms and values regarding ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ roles and behavior (“Gender in Culture,” 2017).
If it is “cultural” is it unquestioned?
Cultures as much as societies are not static, they can change and improve over time. As a result, cultural values are also reshaped to address the new needs and conditions of the society. In this process, some values are reinforced while others may disappear (“My Culture Myself”).
How to get involved in cultural groups at JMU?
JMU does a good job promoting cultures from all over the world, with 46 multicultural student organizations on campus. To have the access to the list of all of those organizations click on this link!
Another option to get involved with cultures at JMU is through the Center of Global Engagement, which has many different opportunities to choose from.
LINKERS - International Students and Scholar Services: FROGs for international students--you do not need to be an international student to apply + and you get paid for it!
Share My Culture: a service-learning opportunity for students who are eager to get involved in the local community by giving interactive and informative presentations about their country/culture to local organizations (such as schools or retirement communities).
Global X: a program designed to connect student mentors in their third, fourth, or fifth year at JMU with new international Dukes.
Cultural Festival & opportunities in the Harrisonburg community:
The 2022 Harrisonburg International Festival will occur on September 24 (Saturday) from noon to 6 pm in Downtown Harrisonburg. For more details click on this link!
2021 Harrisonburg International Festival video: https://youtu.be/11UUbR0ohW0
Cultural Orientation Class Volunteer: The Church World Service Harrisonburg Immigration and Refugee Program needs volunteers to assist the Cultural Orientation teacher with the class, which is a mix of ESL and other cultural orientation topics that are required for our new arrivals. Volunteers will pick at least one day a week to be involved and are expected to commit to either one semester at a time or 3 months at a time (extended volunteer opportunities with the Cultural Orientation class are available). For more information click on this link!
Sources:
“Gender in Culture .” The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), 2017. https://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/ti_pubpdf_mh0216894enn_pdfweb_20170124111005.pdf.
“My Culture Myself? What Is Culture Anyway?” The University of Oxford. Department for Continuing Education. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/samples/inter-culturally-speaking-online/index.html.