The Campus Events + Entertainment Mexican American Culture Committee hosted the 4th annual ¡Bailando! dance event on Wednesday evening, inviting students to dance and enjoy Latin American culture.
Students of all cultures were encouraged to dance to the beats of Spanish music and try Latin American dances such as salsa, merengue, rancheros and corridos.
“The purpose of ¡Bailando! is to serve as an event for students to dance the night away and the stress away that comes with being a college student,” said Andrea Hernandez, biochemistry senior and chair of Campus E + E Mexican American Culture Committee.
The event was held in the Student Activity Center ballroom, which was decorated with flags from various Latin American countries. Campus E + E invited Kyle Clark, also known as DJ Motivate to orchestrate the music.
“My hope is that if there are other students from other communities that are not Spanish speaking communities, that they can see how important music is to the Latin culture,” Clark said. “My role is to really make sure everyone has a good time to good music.”
Throughout the night, about 200 students of various backgrounds and levels of expertise participated in the dancing at ¡Bailando!. Along with dancing and music, ¡Bailando! also offered modern day Latin American refreshments for students to snack on including hot Cheetos and cheese, aguas frescas, fruit cups and various Mexican candies.
Philosophy senior Khoa Nguyen said he was able to live out his interest in Latin American dance at ¡Bailando!.
“I took a social dance class at UT last semester and that just really took off. I found that I particularly like Latin dances,” Nguyen said. “So during the winter break I took some Latin dance classes at a dance studio and now that I’m back at UT, there was this Latin dance event where I could show off my new moves so I decided that I should come.”
Computer engineering senior Jose Camacho attended ¡Bailando! to get in touch with his own culture.
“It looked like a fun event to have with my friends and it seemed like a good time so I decided ‘Why not?’” Camacho said. “I was raised on the border, so seeing the setup and refreshments offered really makes me feel I have a place here at UT.”
