[soliloquy id=”6192″]
On Wednesday, August 25th, the UNC Carolina Latinx Center hosted its annual open house. After not being able to fully open due to the Corona-virus pandemic we were ecstatic to finally open our doors and community to all on campus.
Delicious pupusas from So Good Pupusas, a local food truck company with connections to UNC, were provided while getting to show off our new and improved center. During the open house, laughter, excitement, and community were all undeniably present, setting a foundation for a strong community this center will foster.
At our open house, we welcomed seven student organizations, including Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated (OPBSI), Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity (LUL), Lambda Pi Chi Sorority (LPC), Qué Rico, the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and Mi Pueblo.
Latin American music and new conversations filled our hall. One of our student organization leaders, Dariel Cortes, an hermano from LUL said, “It’s finally great to be on campus again, see new and old faces and to promote our culture. LUL is back and ready to hit the ground running with a bunch of events.” Chabely Figuereo, an hermana from LPC said, “On behalf of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority Incorporated, we are very excited to be back on campus, meeting new people and seeing familiar faces.”
For the Carolina Latinx Center this was not just an open house, but a celebration of the hard work and determination so many of our community members made to make this center possible. It emphasizes the beginning of housing nuestra familia Latina on campus where we can come together to talk, laugh, plan, study, and most of all feel at home. As a center, we loved seeing all the happy faces walking through our doors with curiosity and eagerness to learn more. We could not be happier with the turnout from our open house and cannot wait for our future events coming up.