When I stepped out of the elevator on the second floor, the Latinx Heritage Month opening ceremony was beginning. The DJ asked the crowd of enthusiastic students, “Where my Latinos at?!” I heard loud screams and roars filled with representation all across the lobby. Withinseconds, I started to hear music from a bunch of different Spanish artists, including Prince Royce and Bad Bunny. The crowd went wild. Students of various diversities, personalities and ethnicities were at the ceremony. They seemed to be very diverse and down to earth. Everyone was having a good time, and so was I.
I grabbed my Puerto Rican friend, Adina, by the hand and forced her to take pictures with me at the photo booth. Then, we went to explore the multiple booths around us, mainly for the purpose of finding food. For the first time ever, I tasted a traditional Hispanic drink known asmorir soñando, which is orange juice mixed with carnation milk. It created a smoothie-like texture and tasted delicious. Mamita’s Ices, which are my favorite, were being handed out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get one, as they ran out of them. There were different types of tasty Spanish foods at each booth. I got to try cheese and beef empanadas, along with plantains, fried cheese and sausages.
Once Adina and I were finished stuffing our face with the appetizing finger foods available, I made her teach me how to dance salsa. At first she was quite shy, but the music got her out of her comfort zone and made her want to dance. Step, step, hip. Step, step, hip. I started to get the hang of it. Based on the array of flags hanging down from the rail of the third floor, Adina was teaching me the names of the Hispanic countries allthe flags belonged to. All in all, I enjoyed myself at the opened ceremony and a learned a handful of new things.
