Latino community shines, celebrates its culture through Hispanic Heritage Month

Hawa Sow
Tue, 20 Sep 2022 02:42:39 +0000
Arts & Life, Instagram Page, News, culinary arts, Latin America, latinx, latinx columbus, latinx heritage month, latinx ohio, latinx ohio state, los guachos, Ohio, ohio state, performing arts, tacos, the ohio state university, tortas

A wide variety of events will be planned for students around Hispanic Heritage Month through The Student Success center within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Credit: Amani Bayo

Jaylene Canales, a third-year in Spanish, said she has a large amount of pride for her heritage, with both of her parents immigrating to the U.S. in their late teens.

Canales said with her mother from Northern Mexico and her father from Honduras, she wanted to find the culture at Ohio State.

“One of the first things I did when I got to campus was search for a community of Latinx students to make me feel more at home,” Canales said.

As the Hispanic Heritage Month spans from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, society can reflect on the diverse and vibrant cultures of Latino-identifying communities through organizations around Columbus and at Ohio State with the Latinx Student Association and Multicultural Understanding through Non-traditional Discovery Opportunities.

One distinguishing factor is the Latino community’s cuisine, and Canales said she found some of her favorite dishes and restaurants in Columbus.

“Los Guachos is a great place for tortas and tacos,” Canales said. “Barroluco has great options for Argentinian foods, like paella, and Real Honduras Restaurant has delicious meals from Honduras, like tajadas.”

Canales said she encourages students at Ohio State to get involved in the LSA, a student organization that provides a space for Latino students and educates people of non-Latino descent of its rich traditions and culture.

Music is an important part of Latino culture across the world. Its musical artists encompass a variety of genres, spanning from Selena Quintanilla, a Grammy-winning artist, to Bad Bunny, who has had eight top-10 songs on the Billboard 100.

Latino communities also showcase their culture through dance. According to History, these styles include merengue, cumbia, salsa and tango.

Canales said she serves as the LSA dance team coordinator, and the team allows any student to learn the choreography to dance to several genres of Latino music. This team welcomes all students with any experience and enables students to express themselves and learn more about Latino dance styles, she said.

Julius Mayo, coordinator and staff advisor for MUNDO, said there are biases that people of the Latino community encounter in terms of the variety of ways the community can express themselves

“People often label the entire Latinx experience as if it’s one culture when there are so many different countries and histories,” Mayo said. “It’s important for people to recognize that it is a very dynamic culture and one that we should really learn about because it has shaped the United States and countries around the world.”

Mayo also serves as assistant director of academic initiatives in Housing and Residence Education, and he said he seeks to highlight the importance of learning about diverse cultures at Ohio State.

“Talk with people from those communities and see what their experiences have been, while recognizing that there will be different experiences depending on where they’re from and what their family history is,” Mayo said. “This will give a broader understanding of the diversity of people within a specific culture.”