Festival Celebrates Latino Food, Dance

By FEZ CASIM

The Feria de UMW Festival is one of UMW’s most festive events that many will remember for its music, dancing, traditional Latino dress and delicious, exotic foods.  The festival, which was popular on campus last year, is part of Latino Identities Month, and is sponsored by the Latin Student Association (LSA) and the Latin Dance Club in collaboration with the James Farmer Multicultural Center.
The event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in front of Lee Hall. Entry to this event is free. Feria is a Spanish word for carnival, and LSA has put forth everything to make this carnival a great success.
There will be many different cultural foods including grilled Peruvian chicken, yucca fries and fried plantains as well as traditional Latino styles of music such as salsa, merengue, bachata and pop. LSA has also invited the Latin Dance Club to perform and teach students different types of Latin dances, including a  traditional Bolivian dance.
LSA will also be giving out raffle tickets for prizes which include an MP3 player, DVDs and CDs. Many students came to this event last year to learn different cultural dances and try different cultural foods, and LSA is expecting a big crowd this year as well.
LSA is a student club organization that promotes awareness about Latino culture on the UMW campus. LSA also gives students opportunities to address issues affecting the Latino community in the U.S. and in Latin America. Its membership is comprised of students from all ethnic backgrounds, and the club encourages a spirit of diversity.
“You don’t have to be Hispanic to join LSA,” said LSA President, Omar Medina.