With Hispanic Heritage Month underway, Spotlight Events’ Viva La Fiesta continued the festivities on campus. The event on Sept. 18 featured live music and a wide range of activities for students to partake in.
Throughout the event students danced, painted cantaritos, rode the mechanical bull and enjoyed sweet treats like pan dulce and aguas frescas.
Janesa Aldasoro on the Spotlight Events team said the goal was to create an immersive experience for all to enjoy.
“The purpose of this night was to just share a culture, that is my own and a culture that is very big and present on the Fresno State campus,” Aldasoro said. “Especially for students who don’t get to have fun like this on a regular basis or those who just want to experience it for the first time.”
Due to the rain, the event was moved inside to the Resnick Student Union Ruiz ballroom. However, this did not deter students from showing up, as many lined up well before the event started.
Belita Binoy, a pre-health major, heard about Viva La Fiesta on Instagram and decided to attend out of curiosity. She loves Mexican food and wanted to learn more about the culture.
As an international student herself, Binoy believes it’s important for all colleges to celebrate different cultures through events like Viva La Fiesta.
“Every college and university should do it because students need to feel that feeling of belonging,” Binoy said. “Many of them stay in dorms. They’re away from their families. So it’s festivals and events like these that make them feel more like this is home.”
In addition to painting a cantarito, what really caught her attention at Viva La Fiesta was Banda La Afirmativa’s performance and the dance circles that formed during their set.
Banda La Afirmativa has played at various events on campus now, such as La Bienvenida on Sept. 17. At both events, Banda La Afirmativa had students and staff dancing to the sounds of drums, a tuba and more that are often used in popular Mexican songs.
Lead singer of the band Oswaldo Fernandez-Hernandez likes coming back to campus to perform, especially as a Fresno State alumnus.
“Honestly, Fresno State really shaped who I am right now with my education and the opportunities that it gave me, which is why I’m really happy to come back and do these performances,” he said.
Fernandez-Hernandez added that during his time as a student, bands like his did not usually come to campus. Therefore, he said it was nice for him to unite the campus community through music.
Roommates Alexi Guerrero and Leilani Gomez, stopped by the event mainly for the free food and drinks. In addition, the two got to test out the waters on campus events, as Viva La Fiesta was the first one either of them had attended.
Guerrero said it was a little stressful due to how packed the ballroom was, but overall, it was a good experience to celebrate her culture.
“Coming from a Hispanic household, it was nice having stuff from home and having things that I would normally eat,” Guerrero said.
For information on upcoming events like their Halloween Spooktacular, students are encouraged to follow Spotlight Events on Instagram.
