For Malyna Trujillo, connection to her culture moves through her feet. She’s been a dancer since she was 5 years old, when her mother first brought her to a Mexican folk dance class in San Jose, Calif. As a high schooler, she even toured California as a backup dancer with legendary norteño band Los Tigres del Norte.
Now a sophomore studying political science at the George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Trujillo is co-president of GW Folklorico, a campus dance troupe that opens the art form she loves to dancers from every background. In a month, Folklorico will cap this year’s GW Latin Heritage Celebration (LHC) when it hosts RÍTMO!, a concert showcasing Latin dance groups from across the GW and D.C. communities.
“Dance is my connection to my culture—to my family, my history and my ancestors,” Trujillo said. “It's one of my biggest passions, it brings me so much joy, and I'm so glad that there's a space at GW to highlight that this month.”
Running from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, LHC is an opportunity to bring GW’s Latin community together and to spotlight its accomplishments at the university and beyond. This year’s theme, “Herencia Unites, Cultura Ignites,” chosen by student leaders on the LHC committee, emphasizes both the solidarity that unites GW’s Latin community and the diversity of experience contained within that community.
"This month is an opportunity to celebrate the excellence, innovative spirit and diverse perspectives of GW’s Latina/o/e/x and Hispanic communities,” GW President Ellen M. Granberg said. “As we honor their enduring impact, we reaffirm our commitment to including and amplifying these voices throughout our campuses and our local, national and global initiatives. Together, we're shaping a future where all cultures thrive and contribute to our shared mission of positive change."
Latin Heritage Month celebrates the rich history, culture and contributions of individuals and communities whose ancestry can be traced to dozens of countries in the Americas and the Caribbean. Its celebration during the months of September and October overlaps with the independence days of several Latin American countries.
GW students chose this year’s theme from many possibilities because of its emphasis on the broadness and variety of the Latin American experience, LHC committee chair Adriana Hernandez Jimenez said. On the one hand, the Spanglish phrase—which translates to “Heritage Unites, Culture Ignites”—celebrates shared heritage and a sense of intra-community belonging and solidarity. On the other, it spotlights the diversity of cultures and experiences included under the “Latin Heritage” umbrella and the many ways Latin individuals express their cultures in daily life.
“It’s important to express that we’re not a monolith; this community is a hub for so many different cultures,” said Hernandez, a junior criminal justice major who is president of GW’s Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS). “We all experience the beauty of Latinidad in different ways, but we can all find a home here.”
LHC is an opportunity to celebrate “both inwards and outwards,” Hernandez said, finding rootedness among people who share your experience while also opening that experience to the wider community and vice versa. The month kicks off Sept. 15 with Meet La Familia, a social showcase of Latin student organizations with food, music and games on Kogan Plaza.
Though this year’s theme is in Spanglish, Hernandez stressed that LHC isn’t limited to Spanish-speaking cultures alone. “Plenty of Latin American people speak Portuguese or Indigenous languages or others. We want to truly embrace all the many aspects of what being Latin is.”
Growing up in Seattle, Hernandez was the only Mexican student in her small middle school class. When she applied to high schools, she had two goals: join the track team and get involved with the Latin community. By college, she’d left track behind but still prioritized engagement with the culture. At the MSSC Block Party her first year at GW, Hernandez felt an immediate connection among the students representing Latin student organizations.
“Seeing everyone at those tables made me really happy—just to be in this setting with so many students from such diverse backgrounds,” Hernandez said. “I remember that moment really vividly because that is when I immersed myself in the culture at GW.”
Seeing older students prioritize building a warm, inclusive home away from home made Hernandez want to follow in their footsteps, and when she saw an Instagram post from OLAS searching for first-year representatives, she jumped at the chance.
It’s a sentiment Hernandez shares with fellow committee member Sophia Martinez Tohmi, a senior marketing major who coincidentally also grew up in Seattle. As president of Casa Blanca, GW’s Latin living affinity, Martinez sees her first duty as creating a sense of home for students who may be feeling isolated, lonely or just overwhelmed, as she sometimes was when she first arrived. Because it takes place so close to the beginning of the year, when new students are still settling in, LHC is a key part of that work.
“There’s a lot of overlap between people who identify as Latin American and people who are first generation students,” said Martinez, a child of immigrants from Venezuela who is in the first generation of her own family to attend college. “Every day I want to make sure that other students feel welcomed and seen and that they have a space to be themselves here.”
And for Martinez, an important part of building that home is showing pride in her culture and heritage.
“I’m super proud to call myself Latin American and Venezuelan,” Martinez said. “My mom has asked why I feel that way when I was born here [in the U.S.], and I explained that I come home to a Venezuelan household: When I come home, I speak Spanish, I eat plantains, rice and beans, and maybe that is not typical or exactly like all my friends’ households. But it’s also a point of connection to my culture and all of my family back in Venezuela. I hope that when they see me in pictures holding the Venezuelan flag, they know I’m thinking of them. Even if the distance separates us, something is uniting us.”
This year’s LHC includes monthlong book displays at the MSSC and at Gelman Library and Eckles Library, starting Sept. 16. The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum’s ongoing exhibition “Irresistible: The Global Patterns of Ikat” includes textiles from Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico and Guatemala.
A partial list of upcoming LHC events at GW includes:
Samba Workshop: The Art of Activism, Sept. 13 at 4:30 p.m., District House Dance Studio, B132, 2121 H St. NW
Meet La Familia, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m., Kogan Plaza
Empoderate: Latines Vote Matters, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m., University Student Center, 1st floor, 800 21st St. NW
Ayiti: Food of the Island, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m., South Hall Basement, 2135 F St. NW
Real Conversations: Discussing Indigenous Heritage, Womanhood, Power and Struggle in the Cities, Sept. 19 at 5:30, Theta House, 620 21st Street NW
A Life of Public Service: Secretary Del Toro Event, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m., Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st St. NW
Líderes Hispanos: Hispanic Leadership in International Affairs, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m, Elliott School Lindner Family Commons, 6th floor, 1957 E St. NW
Noche Artesanal: Pinta y Brinda (Cantartios), Sept. 26, Casa Blanca Affinity Space, District House 7th floor, 2121 H St. NW
Open Mic Night, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m., Jack Morton Auditorium
Beyond the Classroom: Latino Student Identity and Civic Impact in Today's America, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m., Jack Morton Auditorium
Pláticas y Profesores, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m., Elliott School City View Room, 7th floor, 1957 E St. NW
RÍTMO!, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m., Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, 800 21st St. NW
Fiestasa, Oct. 19, time and location TBD
Follow participating organizations on social media and Engage for more:
