Photos by CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Freshman
Rocio Lopez and third-year Jennifer
Chavez practice merengue together in preparation in Wilson
Plaza, the site for Festival Latino.
By Kelsey McConnell
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA gains exposure to part of its diverse population as
the 4th annual Festival Latino, “My Family, Mi Cultura, Minha
Vida,” comes to campus again.
On Saturday, the festival will expose audiences to a wide array
of Latino cultures. The festival was formerly known as Latin Fest,
but, as festival co-director and Latin American Student Association
member Daniel Goularte points out, this name lacked the connotation
of “Festival Latino.”
“We felt that as a culture, since we don’t usually
refer to our people as Latin, that we should change the name.
Latino is for people of the U.S.,” said Goularte, a
third-year history and Chicano/a studies student.
The festival host, LASA, is an 11-year member of UCLA’s
Center for Student Programming. Meeting each Wednesday evening, the
association is one of the biggest of its kind, drawing 80 to 90
regular members. Among its various activities, LASA offers a
tutoring program to elementary students, in addition to providing
academic study halls and cultural presentations.
 CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Fifth year math applied science
student, Ernie Vazquez, dips his partner in
practice for the Festival Latino.
“This is my third year at UCLA and through LASA I get a
sense that I’m part of a community,” Goularte said.
“The campus is so big, that this gives me something a little
smaller where I can get involved with the culture and the community
outside of the university curriculum.”
The goal of the festival is simple: to educate and celebrate one
aspect of UCLA’s diverse student population.
“We want to expose people to the diversity of the
culture,” said Goularte. “I think the UCLA community
could explore more Latino culture. People tend to lump Latinos in
“˜Mexican’ and not everybody is Mexican. The land of
Latin America has Brazil, Cuba, Panama.”
Holding the festival on campus makes it easier for organizers in
LASA to draw the target student audience to “Arena of
Consciousness,” “Village,” and
“Stage,” the festival’s triad of events.
“The Arena is an area of the festival where community and
student organizations can share what they do through the community
and the campus,” said Goularte. “It’s a place
where they can spread the word and try to recruit.”
 CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin
The Village includes food vendors, and arts and crafts vendors
from the L.A. area selling their wares.
The Stage is a forum for both UCLA and non-UCLA performance
groups.
“From outside UCLA we have a group from UCI dancing Salsa,
a professional Brazilian Samba group and the youth organization
from a L.A. after-school program,” said Goularte.
UCLA contributes a variety of dancers to the festival with UCLA
Ballet Folkolrico, LASA Salseros, LASA Merengueros, and the Ladies
Troupe. Goularte says that the Merengueros are breaking tradition
by having women dance as the traditionally male leads.
“The troupe members and I dance for the love of the Latin
American culture,” said Yvonne Ballesteros, a fifth-year
political science student and one of the LASA Salseros
coordinators. “Being born here in the U.S., I feel like
I’ve missed out on the culture and heritage that comes with
being Mexican.”
Quetzal, a band that mixes indigenous beats with funk, cumbia,
and contemporary Latin beats, will kick off the festival’s
musical offerings and the salsa of Ricardo Lemvo y Makina Loca will
serve as the finale. In between, audiences at the Stage will
experience salsa, mariachi, latin jazz, merengue, ska and
reggae.
The Festival Latino will also celebrate student achievements by
awarding two students with scholarships and recognizing four
outstanding graduating seniors with community and academic
awards.
“I’m excited about the festival because I am in
charge of the scholarship committee,” said LASA member Maria
Guiza, a first-year political science student. “We picked
students based on academic achievement and community service. The
scholarships are important because they will really help the Latino
community. I know money is a big factor when it comes to going to
college.”
Regardless of ethnic or cultural affiliation, LASA hopes that
all festival-goers will find a wealth of interests and enjoyment in
the Festival Latino.
FESTIVAL Festival Latino will be held at
UCLA’s Wilson Plaza on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 7
p.m. Admission is free.