Walking under the garden arch you’re immediately greeted with the sight of a bustling courtyard. Student organization tables with poster boards propped up and local vendors displaying their wares are surrounded by students and curious bystanders.
Colorful papel picados and balloons decorate the area in orange, pink, yellow and blue. Food trucks line the Governors Scott Courtyard field perimeter with the anticipation of those in line rising with every step.
Fiesta Latina is a celebration of community. The event began last year under Yahir Sanchez-Vasquez who was the President of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). This is ALPFA’s second time hosting the event.
ALPFA’s Vice President and fourth-year business administration and psychology major Angel Prestegui-Martinez said, “We wanted to expand and not only invite NC-state students, but multiple students across North Carolina.” Students and performers from Charlotte to Greensboro to Chapel Hill came to Fiesta Latina to connect and support their community.
NC State’s student organizations came out to support ALPFA. Organizations such as Lambda Theta Phi, a Latino Fraternity, has been serving the Latino community at NC State for fifteen years and supported ALPFA’s first Fiesta Latina.
The president of Lambda Theta Phi and fourth-year construction engineering student David Suarez said, “You get to see the same faces you see all the time. And you don’t feel, like, alienated here. It helps you feel more connected.”
Just a table away is Mi Familia, an organization dedicated to bringing together the on-campus Latin community their social, cultural and political forum.
Mi Familia and ALPFA have a long history of supporting each other. The president and fourth-year psychology major Samantha DeAndrea said, “I feel like it’s a very important community because I think for a lot of these people too, like this is like a foreign environment, you know, from where they come from. So keeping together is very important for us for sure.”
And a notable vendor at Fiesta Latina was Siembra NC. The organization was formed in 2017 in response to ICE taking people off the streets.
Second-year finance major and ALPFA’s director of finance Mateo De La Rocha helped translate for Siembra organizer in Wake County, Catalina Munoz who said, “They’re organizing groups of people and, since the group gets bigger, that means it has more power. That way they can have a greater voice or say in the laws to improve for the working class.”
Munoz said she came to Fiesta Latina “to know more people and try to find a leader’s group who wants to fight, and for, you know, to mobilize more people.”
Iris Luxury Bouquets was a vendor table nearby. Her area follows a cute, pink theme with her sister’s tres leches cakes tied with a bow and small flower bouquets in colorful wrapping paper. The owner is Iris Mendoza, a first-year nursing major at Wake Tech. She was inspired by her Quinceañera and her love of flowers.
When asked what brought her to Fiesta Latina, Mendoza said, “One of my friends, actually, she received a bouquet from me, and then she invited me in, and I am Latina as well. I’m from El Salvador, so she kind of, kind of, like, brought me here and just to meet people and to interact with me.”
The highlight of Fiesta Latina was the performances. Lambda Theta Phi and Lambda Theta Alpha from NC State first took to the stage with their stepping. With their thunderous performances done in unity and with pride, they set the stage for UNC Greensboro’s Punto Flow.
The dancers were recognizable with their black tops and pale yellow miniskirts. They take to the brick stage shoeless and snatch the crowd’s attention with the first beat.
Itzayan Danza Folklorico, a non-profit dance group from Wilmington follows up. From head to toe they’re dressed in traditional Mexican folklorico dresses. Flowers keep their hair in a large bun and they hold the skirt of their dresses.
Despite being the last to perform, Sube Ritmo, a Latin dance team from NC State continued the high energy. With their sharp dance moves and encouraging crowd interactions, they brought attendees to the stage in their final dance.
Fiesta Latina was an incredible experience, bringing together an amazing crowd of people to celebrate their culture and community.
