Harvard Student Groups Revive Latinx Artist of the Year Award at Annual Ritmo Latino Showcase

With plates piled high and music coursing through the air, Harvard students and faculty celebrated Latin American culture through food, dance, and song at Fuerza Latina’s annual Ritmo Latino cultural showcase.

The Saturday event showcased several student performances — including from the Harvard Undergraduate Candela Latin Dance Troupe and Harvard RAZA Folklorico — in the Quincy House dining hall. Attendees also enjoyed dishes from various Latin American countries, like Puerto Rican alcapurrias, Brazilian paes de queijo, Ecuadorian chaulafan, and Honduran baleadas.

This year’s celebration also saw the revival of the Latinx Artist of the Year Award for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. Fuerza recognized Veronica Robles, the founder of Boston’s first all-female mariachi band, as this year’s recipient.

Lia G. Galindo ’27, vice president of Fuerza Latina, said the award was revitalized to recognize artists that represent Latino culture and heritage outside of Harvard’s campus.

“This year, Fuerza Latina has decided to reintroduce this award as a way to both thank and honor those individuals who represent us outside of our Harvard walls — those voices who speak for us beyond just the classroom,” Galindo said.

Elias M. Valencia ’28, Fuerza Latina’s historian, introduced Robles as a musician who is “widely celebrated as the most authentic representative of Mexican culture in New England.”

“Through her pioneering use of the arts and culture, she has united diverse communities and championed the importance of cultural diversity,” Valencia, a Crimson News editor, said.

“As Boston’s first lady of mariachi, she has spent decades using the power of music and tradition to unite communities and inspire generations. A trailblazer, she founded Boston’s first all-women mariachi band, breaking barriers in a male-dominated tradition, and spreading messages of love, unity, and inclusion across New England,” he added.

Gustavo Luna, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, also spoke at the event to celebrate students’ distinct cultural identities.

“I encourage you to speak up, to share your culture, to share who you are, because that’s what makes you special,” Luna said.

“As you go out there, you make sure that people know who you are, that they value your heritage, and of course, that you represent the people that made you, you,” he added.

Following her performance of bomba, Paola Y. Lee-Vega ’26, said the dance has historically served not simply as a form of art, but also as a form of resistance.

“This is bomba, a traditional Afro-Puerto Rican style that was created in the 17th century by the island’s enslaved population,” Lee-Vega said. “This was a form of, not just art, but also resistance. It was the way that people from the enslaved community got together to share community.”

Lee-Vega said performing has allowed her to stay connected to her cultural identity and share aspects with her peers.

“It’s a forum to, not just express our culture, but to also share with other people,” she said. “I think one of the best things that I’ve been able to do is come to places like this and do performances of things that are near and dear to me.”

After Candela’s performance of a mixture of bachata, salsa, and merengue, members Carlos A. Salais ’28 and Emiliano G. Berlanga ’28 said the group has given them a cultural and creative home on campus.

“For me, Candela has been a way to really reconnect with my culture,” Salais said. “I grew up in an area without many Latinos, and so coming here to Harvard, it was really nice to be able to experience something that I missed out on growing up.”

“It’s really nice to just have a community that is focused so much on such a joyful experience that is so specific to your culture, and I really appreciate that,” Gutierrez Berlanga added.

In an interview following the event, Fuerza co-president Sarita Plata ’27 spoke on the loss of Latino cultural festivals across the country due to fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said she found it “really disheartening.”

“Part of Ritmo Latino, I think, this year was especially highlighting that we can have this Latino cultural showcase for those who cannot, and making sure that our representation is still here despite the circumstances,” Plata said.

—Staff writer Alexander W. Anoma can be reached at alexander.anoma@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @AnomaAlexander.

—Staff writer Chantel A. De Jesus can be reached at chantel.dejesus@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @c_a_dejesus.