¡VIVA! There’s a new club at the UW-Superior; ¡VIVA! Latin Association or ¡VIVA! for short. This club aims to connect with Latin Americans on campus and embrace cultural diversity with all.
Club president Domenica Salgado Cevallos expressed that she explored the clubs and activities available when she first came to UWS.
She found Nippon Cha Cha Cha, which aims to encourage people in the UWS to experience authentic Japanese culture, and the Black Student Union, an organization that provides a positive outlook on African/African American culture, but she realized there wasn’t one that was specifically for Latin Americans. The discussion and planning to create a Latin American club started months before the first formal meeting on Feb. 25.
“What I wanted to do is to bring a little bit of our culture here… for our international students, and for all of us that want to be part of the club, so that they can feel a little bit closer to home,” Salgado Cevallos said.
“And we also want to bring, you know, new experiences, new events. We, Latin Americans, are really known for being super friendly, and even though you’re not part of the family, we will consider you as part of the family,” she highlighted.
¡VIVA! is hosting a “Fake Quinceañera,” which will take place April 24 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It will be in the William Pope Wright Student Center located in Old Main.
A quinceañera is a coming-of-age celebration that’s traditional in Latin American. It’s a girl’s 15 birthday marking her transition from childhood to womanhood.
“Like every Latin American girl has had it at least once in their life, or they’ve gone to [one],” Salgado Cevallos said. “And it’s fake because, you know, we don’t have all the equipment or all the essence to make it like a exact quinceañera, but we want to bring as much as possible to the table.”
She’s hoping this will become the club’s signature event for years to come.