Amidst snowfalls last Thursday evening, the Latino Student Alliance held “Noche Caliente,” meaning “hot night,” for their yearly celebration of Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month.

About 85 people attended the dance party, held in the Centennial Towers Ballroom.

“Noche Caliente is just a fun-filled celebration where we celebrate the end of the month through different types of Latin dancing from Salsa to Bachata to Pitbull,” said Raymundo Salazar, president of LSA and second year molecular biology major from Brighton.

A live DJ kept attendees dancing on their feet for three hours, playing lesser known Spanish songs as well as mainstream pop hits and line dances such as “The Wobble.”

Sodas and Latin pastries were available for those who wanted to take a break from the heat of the dance floor.

The turnout included students from many different organizations on campus from multicultural Greek life to the student alliances, as well as many students who were not affiliated with any particular organization.

Nadia Etchey, a first-year business major specializing in marketing, heard about Noche Caliente from the Diversity and Unity Retreat in September, Facebook invites and numerous emails.

“I learned more about Latin dancing, which was really fun because it was completely different from the dancing I was used to,” said Etchey.

Last Thursday was Ijya Paudel’s, a second-year international business major and Denver resident who is originally from Nepal, first time attending Noche Caliente.

“I learned some dance moves to Spanish songs so it was a really good experience,” said Paudel. “I feel as if music and dance are a big part of any culture and reflects what it is about.”

Throughout October, LSA celebrated Latino Heritage Month with events such as a film screening of Dr. Bernardo Kononovich’s “Kadish” with a guided discussion with Kononovich himself afterwards, Noche Caliente and “Taste of Latin America” hosted by Latino-based fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta.

“All the different Latino [organizations] hold events to celebrate the month,” said Salazar, who named Latina sorority Pi Lambda Chi, the DU Latino Center for Community Engagement and the DU Latino Alumni Association as a few of the organizations involved.

According to Paudel, who is not a part of LSA, more students should make an effort to go to events celebrating Latino Heritage Month, even if those students don’t identify as of Latino or Hispanic heritage.

“You see people that come from this culture right here at DU and realize that your friends and colleagues represent this vast culture. When you stop thinking of the world as being separated by borders and embrace different cultures, I think you learn more about who you are and where you really come from,” said Paudel.

Noche Caliente, though a free event, accepted about $100 dollars in donations for the DU Latino Alumni
Association’s initiative to start a new scholarship for an incoming Latino student. According to Salazar, the DULAA hopes to have this scholarship available by next year.

“We felt as Latino students it is important to pay it forward and help those who are in the shoes we once wore,” said Salazar.

Pi Lambda Chi will be holding a Poetry Slam featuring DU Spoken Word at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30 in the Korbel Cyber Café as DU’s final event celebrating Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month.