Latino Heritage is a celebration of the history, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Skyline had its epic conclusion to Latino Heritage month with a big celebration on Wednesday Oct. 9 in front of the quad. Tons of people came from all different cultures and backgrounds to look, taste, and experience the essence of Latino culture.

The Latino Heritage celebration brought tons of music, food and drinks, and games to get everyone involved like having an old Latin tradition of horchata, a cinnamon and rice milk, was served to everyone. They even had piñatas for students to win prizes.

What made the celebration unique was the authenticity of everything, to having an Afro Cuban jazz cartel performing live and an Afro Peruvian dance to really bring the heritage of Latino culture alive.

The Afro Cuban Jazz Cartel performance was a perfect example of Latino Heritage as it had a blending of two worlds: Latin and Jazz music. This combination is the essence of what Latino Heritage is about. The Cartel takes from the African American tradition of jazz music and Latin culture to create the ultimate American musical expression.

The Afro Peruvian dance also represented this melting-pot ideology through it’s cultural traditions taken from Perú; a place where Africans were uprooted to. These rooted tradition are what keep cultures alive and what help other cultures understand their traditions.

September 15 is a very significant day for these cultures because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively.

For even more information about Hispanic Heritage Music and Dance you can go to:

http://www.brianandres.com/afro-cuban-jazz-cartel

hispanicheritagemonth.gov/‎

http://www.cunamacue.org/