The third annual Latino/Latina Open House was held in Alumni Hall. Chairs were set up with tables decorated by the presiding organizations. There was a long table covered by trays of pizza with beverage dispensers at the end. Music played over the speaker system as the crowd drifted from the pizza to their seats. Tony Mapeyé took his seat at the front of the hall, guitar in hand, as the microphone was set up before him. The show was ready to start.
There were two sides to the open house, one meant to entertain, the other meant to inform. At the same time it was also a bit of a concert. Mapeye played several of his songs and after him came Velcro and Ikol Santiago with their own style of hip hop. At the same time it wasn’t the traditional audience. Quite a few people were there for the information the Open House provided. Others were there to meet and converse with their friends. Still more were lured within by the free pizza. Some paid more attention to the performers than others, all had a good time.
As for the information, there was plenty. There were two fraternities on hand, Sigma Lambda Beta and Alpha Psi Lambda, both with large groups representing. There was a display for both the Latino and Latin American Studies program and the Foreign Language Studies program. It was also a time for the issue of the Illinois MAP grant to be brought up as well, as thousands of students will, if policy goes unchanged, be unable to continue their education come Spring.
The entertainment was divided between two acts, one of the guitarists Tony Mapeyé, and the other of the hip hop duo Velcro and Ikol Santiago. It made an interesting dynamic, moving from Mapeye’s acoustic rhythm that drew directly from his roots, to Velcro and Ikol’s electronic beats and rap. It seemed that even with the large change of style, that the move from Mapeye’s charged performance to Velcro and Ikol’s rap in unison didn’t move far in subject, as the heart of the matter was deeply centered on upholding Puerto Rican culture.
When it comes to organizational fairs, it’s sometimes hard to tell how successful they were. There was a large audience, but it can be asked how many of them were already part of the various programs advertised, or came merely for the free food and show. Whatever the audiences intentions may have been, it is very true that the Third Annual Latina/Latino Open House presented its information in such a manner that it was encouraging to stick around and listen.