Fiesta Latina Gathers 300 People: Latino Student Union Hosts Successful First Event

Green River College hosted the Latino Student Union’s first event, gathering a crowd of over 300 people to celebrate Fiesta Latina in the Grand Hall of the Student Union building.

With hand-made pinatas and other decorations, locally sourced Latin-themed entertainment and presentations, buffet-style finger foods, and live music and dancing, the Latino Student Union created an event to remember on Thursday, May 3. “For me, it’s all about bringing people together,” said Fernando Martinez, one of the lead organizers of the event.
With tickets costing $5 for individuals, or $3 for groups, the Latino Student Union raised over $560, which will go to fund scholarships for Latin American students.

Fiesta Latina was a seamless array of poetry, music, and guest speakers, all with a strong fusion of Latin American culture that took “hundreds of hours to put together,” according to Ivan Montel, another lead organizer of the event. The volunteers spent time representing the local Latin American community and personally invite many different groups to the open event, not exclusively Green River students and staff.

“The whole point is to bring together a community,” said Fernando Martinez. “We have come a long way.”

“As someone who doesn’t know a whole lot about Latin American culture, I found the event to be a really fun and interactive way for people like me to learn,” said Daan Pijs, an international student at Green River. “The mariachi band was my favorite part,” another student said.

The event was run by volunteers from the Latino Student Union. The volunteers hand-made many of the decorations and put their personal money into the funds of the event as well. The volunteers were very committed to creating and providing a fun, educational, and eye-opening Latin American cultural experience for their guests. After formalities, guest speakers, and the plethora of entertainment—which included a local mariachi band and a spoken word poet—the DJ stole the show and played a series of pop/dance songs by Latin American artists from both Spanish and Portuguese influences. The dance party portion of the event lasted from about 8:30 p.m. until the end, 10:30 p.m. and was a wildly popular aspect of the night.

Fiesta Latina provided a cultural fusion of both modern and traditional Latin American music, dance, and food. It was an enjoyable, educational event that carried deep, cultural tones in a light and fun fiesta atmosphere. Green River will surely be looking forward to the Latino Student Union’s next big event.