Regional Latino bands highlight celebration

One by one, the people started to arrive. They came bringing their families, friends and neighbors to enjoy the first days of fall and, more importantly, the Festival Latino, a celebration of Latino heritage and culture and a six-year IU tradition. \nThe festival, which was held in Dunn Meadow next to the Indiana Memorial Union, was sponsored by La Casa Latino Cultural Center of IU. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, La Casa works to give Latino students a place to come together as a community, said center director Lillian Casillas. \n"Our center started out with two goals. One, to be an advocate for Latino students, and two, to educate the student body about Latino culture and issues," Casillas said. \nShe stressed that in addition to being about having fun, this festival was a chance for the Latino students enrolled in IU-Bloomington to interact with one another. \n"Festival Latino is just a natural extension of what we at La Casa are trying to accomplish every day," Casillas said.\nLatino groups were present at the festival as well, and took part in the celebration, which is part of the National Hispanic Heritage Month.\nIU sophomore Jacqueline Lopez, Latinos Unidos treasurer, supervised children as they attempted to throw ping-pong balls into glass cups in the hopes of winning a prize. \n"This festival gives us an environment to share our culture with the Bloomington community," she said, pausing as she handed out colorful toys to children who visited the festival. "Having us all here in one spot is pretty cool -- it gives us an environment to share our culture with the community. It's a breath of fresh air." \nFor festival attendees, a sense of who they are and where they belong is crucial. In a town of such diverse ethnic influences and cultures, the Latino population of Bloomington can sometimes be overlooked, Casillas said. \n"(Our representation) is definitely getting better," said Elizabeth Batista, an IU student and a participant in Festival Latino. "We only make up about 2 percent of the population here, and a lot of our specific problems as a community can be overlooked by those in charge. You know, 'Oh, we'll fix it,' and they never do, unless someone steps up and lets people know that we're here. And here we are." \nThe festivities kicked off at noon with live bands and food. Families swung their kids around in the air to the beats of different types of music, ranging from improvisational salsa to up-tempo merengue. \nAfter a while, passers-by were drawn in by the winding rhythms and the soulful melodies they heard spreading out over the meadow and into the neighborhoods. \nDavid Lugo, the lead singer of Music Royale, an Indianapolis-based Brazilian ensemble and the first band of the afternoon, said they were there to make sure people had a good time. \n"We try to play songs that people will know and appreciate," he said. "We just want to see the Latino people get together and have a fun time."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Buescher at dbuesche@indiana.edu.