Last Friday night, George Washington University students snacked on plantain chips from Costa Rica and wafer cookies from Venezuela while watching a biographical comedy-drama called “Flamin' Hot” that followed the true story of a Frito-Lay janitor channeling his Mexican heritage to turn Flamin' Hot Cheetos from snack to pop culture phenomenon.
Aside from soothing the taste buds, this activity was part of a concerted effort from the Campus Living and Residential Education (CLRE) team to offer a few targeted events to localize Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations for GW students.
This Cheeto-inspired movie night was spearheaded by CLRE Community Coordinators Johanna Burgos, Jess Gonzalez and Johnny Irias-Puerto, all of whom have Latinx heritage. This group of Division for Student Affairs staff members organized a few other events throughout Hispanic Heritage month in their residence halls to share their culture with their students. The initiative aimed to let those in the GW community with Latinx heritage know that they can find representation on campus while also allowing for others outside that population to learn more.
“It's important for us to not only understand all our different identities on a level of being inclusive, but really being able to appreciate each other's culture and understand each other's history and understand each other's customs and traditions takes it a step beyond,” Burgos said.
CLRE Assistant Director Mariam Martinez and CARE Team Coordinator Celia Barrientos were also part of the planning team.
There was a game night Latinx edition, where students and staff competed in a Latinx-themed trivia contest while also playing a traditional Mexican card game—Lotería, which is similar to Bingo. They also played dominoes, which is Puerto Rico’s national board game.
On another night, participants were asked to go on a “blind date” with a book written by an author with Latinx heritage. They then came together to discuss the storytelling and representation of the book they read.
The “Flamin' Hot” movie night, complete with a full table of authentic snacks, rounded out the organized events.
It was important for the team to make sure cultures within the Latinx community itself were represented, as Burgos noted that traditions in say, the Dominican Republic, can be vastly different than those in Argentina, Colombia or El Salvador. Hence the effort on movie night to have snacks from many different Latin American countries on the table.
Burgos and the team were thrilled to overhear the pride students had in sharing facts or stories about the candy, authors or games from their own countries of origin or connection.
“There was a lot of excitement in seeing a part of them being a main focus,” Burgos said.“They were really excited to be engaged with. I think it’s always really great to see your culture being cherished and being protected in different institutions to feel included, but not in a way where you have to minimize where you’re from and your own traditions to feel that inclusion.”
The events also provided an opportunity for staff to share their own self and use their culture and heritage to help build more meaningful relationships with the students.
“GW is the home away from home for a majority of students, and some of them may feel alone,” Martinez said. “Creating that connection with someone who is a staff member who they know they can confide in and that has been through what they’re going through in life and can provide a little perspective for them is very important. We want to create a space where they can find people they can identify with.”
These CLRE staff members hope this is only the beginning, as they have visions of hosting similar events for different heritage months throughout the year.
