Noche de Cultura is a showcase of food, dancing and music that brings Latino Heritage Month to a close. Organizers say it is finally a chance to shift away from religion and politics to some friendly dinner conversation: heritage, fashion, music and dancing.

ISU students Gabriel Benitez, senior in industrial technology, Cilia Maria Ruiz-Paz, sophomore in psychology, and David Romero, senior in biology, have each played a large role in planning the dinner, contacting donors and organizing costumes. They are also participating in the show themselves. Romero is the emcee for the evening and Benitez and Ruiz-Paz will be taking part in a few of the traditional dances and helping out backstage.

Authenticity is one of the focal points of the event. There will be a showcase of folklore dances from various cultures and music from Spanish-speaking countries such as Puerto Rico and Argentina. Costumes were ordered from Puerto Rico, and cost more than $1,000 each.

“We order them all or have someone specially make them,” Benitez says. “This is like girls going all out buying a prom dress.”

The costumes are extremely detailed and fancy, Ruiz-Paz says.

“They always have head pieces and sequins – the head pieces are sometimes almost as tall as the person,” Ruiz-Paz says.

Food from Mexico, El Salvador and Brazil will be served at the dinner. People from each of those countries will also be in attendance. The event is the culmination of year-round planning.

Some may wonder why these students devote so many hours of time when their lives are already so busy. For Romero, the answer is simple.

“For me, this is just life; I just love it. Every time I do the dances or see people playing, the culture, I can see myself. It’s us, my culture is who I am, my identity. I wouldn’t live any other way,” Romero says.

Ruiz-Paz said she is more dedicated to helping people realize the differences among people in her culture.

“We want to teach people that Latinos don’t come in one package – we’re not all darker-skinned. We come with blond hair, blue eyes, light skin, in-between skin,” Ruiz-Paz says.

“We each have our own dialect, our own words, our own food or own music. We’re all a huge part of a group,” she said. “This is why we want to be called Latinos and not Hispanics because we don’t want to be categorized by our language. That is not what Latinos are.”

Benitez says he wants people to realize the abundance of culture at Iowa State.

“Iowa State does not just have one individual country – there are many,” Benitez says. “We love it when people look up at all the flags and realize that.”

Twenty-one flags will fly at Noche de Cultura, one for each of the Spanish-speaking countries represented by a student at Iowa State. The event is also meant to make others aware of the differences on campus, to pay attention to things they normally wouldn’t.

This night is one of the final events of Latino Heritage Month. The month-long celebration included opening ceremonies, an ensemble, a speaker, a dance group and the Cultural Madness Comedy Jam. Although those activities were confined to the month, Romero says the celebration actually lasts quite a bit longer.

“We go longer than a month,” Romero says. “We still have a lecture coming up. We also have presentations for Dia de los Muertos [Day of the Dead]. They should call it Latino Heritage Year.”

Although the event is sponsored by the Latino Heritage Month Committee, it is open to anyone who wants to experience a little culture, diversity and also have a lot of fun, Romero says.

He says there are advantages to understanding about each others cultures.

“From unity comes power,” he says.