This event will include salsa lessons and the performance of Marka Music Band, a local a musical ensemble that performs Latin music deeply rooted in the folkloric and traditional genres of the South American Andean regions. MarKamusic emphasizes the musical and cultural indigenous, West African and Euro-Iberian influences that have shaped modern, folk and traditional South American music and Latin American music at large. The band’s presentation also includes commentaries on the history of South American, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-South American musical forms.

“ Samba, Rumba, Cha-cha, Be-bop, Hip-hop: Claiming Our Space in the Visible World” - Sandra Maria Esteves

Esteves, an active poetry advocate and visual artist, is one of the founding poets of the Nuyorican poetry movement, as well as one of the first Nuyorican women to publish a volume of poetry in the United States. Her presentation will consist of a reading of her poetry and a discussion on a variety of topics including political creative expression, the search for identity of U.S. mainland based Latinos and the visibility (or invisibility) of Latina women in mainstream culture.

Marga Gomez: “Marga Gomez: Comedy, Cooking, and Latino Culture!”

Actress and comedienne, Gomez will look at Latina soccer moms, immigration, multiculturalism and popular culture. Gomez is the author/performer of numerous solo plays and has appeared on VH-1, HBO, Comedy Central, PBS and Showtime. She has been presented nationally and internationally. Gomez’s acting credits include Off Broadway and San Francisco productions of The Vagina Monologues with Rita Moreno. The comedienne will bring highlights from her stand-up act and award winning plays to Mount Holyoke.

“Simply Maria, or the American Dream”

A group of Mount Holyoke students will perform the student-directed staged reading of
“ Simply Maria, or the American Dream.” This play by Josefina Lopez, director of “Real Women Have Curves,” is a touching and humorous play depicting the decisions facing a Latina girl who immigrates to the United States at a young age and finds herself torn between the ideals of two cultures.

Open to all students in the Five College Area. This is an opportunity for students to creatively express their experiences of Latino identity or multiculturalism.

Students will gather in celebration of our month at the Mount Holyoke’s first semi-formal of the year on This elegant event will provide an opportunity for students to socialize and enjoy a night of different types of Latino music and other genres.

Film screening of “Real Women Have Curves,”

As part of the Mount Holyoke Health Services Department’s “As Women We Can” series. "Real Women Have Curves," directed by Josefina Lopez, chronicles the experiences of 18-year-old Ana, a first-generation Mexican-American from East Los Angeles. Ana struggles to strike a balance between her mainstream ambitions and her more traditional cultural heritage as she attempts to forge her own path in life. Co-sponsored by Mount Holyoke Health Services and the Athletics and Physical Education Department, the film screening is to be followed by an informal discussion.