In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Quimbamba Latin Dance Team held its annual Bailamos dance lesson. In a collaboration with the Multicultural Resource Centers, students learned choreography and enjoyed food, music and a lively atmosphere.

This celebration of culture provided students with information about Quimbamba and its history on campus and introduced attendees to the vibrant, unique styles of Latin dance. The informational session was headed by Jermelys Meyreles, president of Quimbamba and a junior majoring in psychology.

Founded in 1970 and chartered in 2013, Quimbamba performs at events and competitions at BU and other campuses. In the spring, the team hosts El Polvorín, a dance competition where teams from across the state travel to Binghamton to perform.

After the informational sessions, members explained and showcased the choreography to interested students. Attendees were invited to embrace Latin culture and enjoy the process of learning something new.

“We just wanted to have our people come in and embrace their culture and have fun celebrating with people who also love their culture, and enjoy good food while doing it,” Meyreles said.

The lesson highlighted merengue, a dance originating in the Dominican Republic that combines African, Spanish and Indigenous cultural influences. A dance as diverse as its people fit the aim of the lesson —sharing and celebrating culture.

Members of Quimbamba instructed attendees to perform parts of the team’s previously showcased choreography. The lesson portion of the event was open to beginners and punctuated with lighthearted humor as everyone spun around the room. Many of Quimbamba’s dancers stepped in and helped attendees with the choreography.

Throughout the lesson, attendees were carefully guided through the intricate steps of the choreography. With each segment, the dance fell into place as the music played through the room.

Zaret Cruz Brioso, head of fundraising for Quimbamba and a sophomore double-majoring in politics, philosophy and law and Latin American and Caribbean studies, led the counts for unfamiliar students. However, the event emphasized enjoying the experience over perfect footwork. The lesson showcased the power dance has to bring communities together.

“Dance is not only just a fun thing to do, or you only do it because you’re good at it,” Brioso said. “Dance is kind of a part of your heart. Even if you’re bad at it, you still get to connect with people and be the social being that we are supposed to be as humans.”

After the lesson, students enjoyed food catered from La Isla, including plátano maduro, pollo al horno, bistec encebollado and moro. Everyone was encouraged to grab a plate and partake in Latin and Caribbean food that is often absent from dining halls. The event exemplified a tight-knit community welcoming new members.

When it comes to cultural diffusion on campus, the Multicultural Resource Center holds weekly events embracing different cultures and provides a space for members of different communities to work, study or get together. Members of Quimbamba described the center as “welcoming” and a multipurpose area that students may not be aware of. Kayla Colon, a coordinator at the MRC, said that the center plans to host other events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

However, these events do not simply cease after four weeks. The Multicultural Resource Center organizes events throughout the entire year to celebrate all cultures. Students are encouraged to bring their own experiences to these events and help develop the blossoming diversity on campus.

“If there’s something else that you want to see, or your own culture represented that you feel like isn’t represented yet, anyone can come to us and be like, ‘I want to see this happen,’ and we’ll make it happen.” Colon said.