In celebration to Hispanic Heritage month, Intercultural Affairs introduced a dance workshop to learn about the “Bomba” an Afro-Puerto Rican dance for students on Sept. 30 downstairs in the Student Center. 

Zelideth Rivas collaborated with choreographer Elia Cortés from Taller Tamboricua based in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico for this event.  

“The goal for this event is to have fun dancing and learning a piece of Puerto Rican history to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month,” said Dr. Rivas, the organizer of this event. 

Students learned basic Bomba history, rhythms and movements. 

“Bomba music and dance was born as an outlet for slaves in Puerto Rico to dance and perform music during their free time.” said Rivas, “However, unlike most folkloric dances, Bomba is special because the dancer composes music with their body and the main drummer, the subidor, follows the dancer’s movement. Dancers compose by accentuating their movements with a piece of clothing which is either their hat or their top skirt.” 

Hispanic Heritage Month has many more events that will be thrown for students in the upcoming weeks, including Dr. Araceli Hernandez-Laroche’s talk “Collaborating Locally and Statewide for More Higher Education Inclusion: Exploring South Carolina Centro Latino’s Key Pillars” on Oct. 5 at 3:30 p.m. in the Drinko Atrium, Beyond Taco Tuesday on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. in the John Marshall Room and Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) “Ofrenda” on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. in the Drinko Atrium. 

“If you missed out on this event, the Rec Center is highlighting the month in their Zumba classes taught by Emily Fankhanel every Monday and Wednesday from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Also, Intercultural Hispanic Organization will offer salsa classes and more throughout the academic year,” said Dr. Rivas. 

For more information on the upcoming events for Hispanic Heritage Month cn be found on the Office of Intercultural Affairs page of the Marshall University website.