The 29th Annual Festival Latino kicked off its week-long celebration this Sunday, as students turned out for Sancocho Latino — a night of authentic Latin American food, music and poetry.
Sancocho is the first of 13 events throughout the week organized and hosted by 20 Latino groups within the Latino Coalition. The Festival will feature Ugly Betty actress America Ferrera as its keynote speaker and will conclude with a party and closing ceremonies Saturday night.
According to College freshman and Latino Coalition Programming Chairwoman Fabriana Larancuent, “Sancocho is a time for students from any culture to enjoy food and performances and come together to find out what Festival Latino and Latino Coalition are all about.”
Wharton sophomore and Latino Coalition Chairman Angel Contrera explained that the event is named after a popular Latin American stew to represent the blending of nationalities and cultures that characterizes Festival Latino.
The evening featured performances from “El Grito de Poetas,” a group from Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York. The poets, who go by the stage names Passion and Chance, drew laughs and snaps from the audience as they delivered their most powerful lines.
“The event had a lot of hype and we saw a very successful turnout,” Wharton sophomore and Latino Coalition Vice-Chairman Dionicio Herrera said. “We expected an audience of about 70 to 90, and over 100 people came in throughout the night. This really sets the tone for the rest of the week.”
This year, the theme of Festival Latino is miPenn to reflect the Latino Coalition’s mission to “be inclusive of the wider Penn community,” Contrera said.
“We want Festival Latino to be an opportunity for Penn students to find themselves through Latino culture,” Larancuent added.
The audience was engaged in the event and drew many attendees of past Latino Festivals. Wharton senior Petry Ubri said, “Sancocho was a great way to start off the week. The food, performances and people were amazing, and I’m excited for the rest of the events coming up.”
Contrera added that he is “honored” to be a part of Festival Latino’s “tradition of spreading Latino culture at Penn throughout the last 29 years … I’m so proud of everything we’ve been able to accomplish this year.”
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