The smell of tajin hits the air while the sound of heels clack against the floor.
With over 100 students present, the Mosaic of Americas Culture Committee’s annual Celebración event kicked off Hispanic Heritage month Thursday at the William C. Powers Student Activity Center.
“MACC has never done a full month (of celebrations) so we’re really excited to kick it off,” MACC Chair Grabriela Sobrevilla said. “Celebración is an annual event so I’m really excited to see it every year.”
Hispanic Heritage month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, observes various independence days from across Latin America.
Headlining the event were performances by the UT Reggaeton Dance Club, Texas Folklorico and Texas Latin Dance.
Around the ballroom’s perimeter, a number of Latinx student organizations, including Reggaeton Dance and the Texas Gammas, a campus sorority, recruited new members.
“I’ve been looking for a Hispanic organization and this is a really good place for me to make friends that are Hispanic as well,” said Patrick Adao-Perez, a finance junior of Puerto-Rican and Brazilian descent. “On campus it’s kind of (difficult) to find somebody like me, so this is a great opportunity.”
Attendees were treated to traditional Latin American food and drinks, including pupusas, a Salvadoran griddle-cake, and tajin limeade.
Attendees were also encouraged to participate in festivities, such as a spin on the game pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey centered around putting a pair of sunglasses on a poster of Peso Pluma, a Mexican singer.
The MACC also held a station for attendees to use glass shards to craft mosaics, which MACC member Hazel Hernandez said signify the unity of cultures across the Americas.
“We’re mixing all the cultures in (North) America and Latin America,” civil engineering freshman Hernandez said. “With a mosaic, you make a big-whole mix of color and you go crazy with it and that’s what MACC is — we’re mixing all the American cultures like Mexican, Cuban, Guatemalan, everything.”
MACC will be holding a variety of events through Oct. 15 in observance of Hispanic Heritage month, with former Disney Channel star Maria Canals-Barrera appearing as a distinguished speaker Thursday, Sept. 26.
“I hope this creates an environment or place where people can celebrate their identity, Sobrevilla said. “We welcome everyone and (hope) for people to come to the event and get involved in a different culture.”
