{"id":12767,"date":"2022-05-17T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T18:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/?p=12767&preview=true&preview_id=12767"},"modified":"2022-08-24T16:23:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T20:23:41","slug":"student-club-creates-space-for-latinx-students-to-express-themselves-and-share-their-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/student-club-creates-space-for-latinx-students-to-express-themselves-and-share-their-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Student club creates space for Latinx students to express themselves and share their culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When senior Pablo Rios-Cruz arrived at Earlham and saw that there was no club for those from a Spanish-speaking culture, he decided to start one of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy family is 3,000 miles away so I thought maybe I can have people who like the same food and music as me,\u201d Rios-Cruz says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biochemistry major and Bonner Scholar began developing the club in spring 2019 with the help of then-senior Claudia Gonzalez. She and other students from Spanish-speaking cultures from her class said they wished the club had existed during their tenure. \u201cThey told me, \u2018I know we\u2019re graduating, but if you need anything, let us know,\u2019\u201d Rios-Cruz remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The club was quickly recognized as official and given a budget, but they still needed a name for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPura Vida means pure life,\u201d Rios-Cruz says. \u201cPura vida is that drive to have a pure life in every way. It\u2019s like a sense of excitement when I hear it,\u201d he continues. \u201cThat\u2019s the sense we want people to have when they come in the door\u2014\u2018I\u2019m home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When junior Diana Tobon joined Pura Vida in her first semester, Rios-Cruz saw her enthusiasm and motivation right away, and made her a co-convener of the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, Pura Vida created a safe space,\u201d says Tobon, a psychology major and Bonner Scholar at Earlham. \u201cWhile in the meetings I feel happy and accepted by the members because I can express myself however I want,\u201d she continues, \u201cso I wanted to be a convener so I could maintain that space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pura Vida\u2019s mission includes creating a space for students from Spanish-speaking cultures to be themselves, to discuss the breadth of Latinx culture andvto share Latin American culture with other students. Bel\u00e9n Villarreal, associate professor of Spanish and Hispanic studies, is the faculty advisor for the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their club meetings, Rios-Cruz says, \u201cWe like coming together for karaoke and movie nights, and talking in our own languages. There are people who speak Spanish in their house and so it feels weird coming here and speaking English all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur meetings are about planning out events, and having discussions of what is going on with the Latinx community locally and globally,\u201d Tobon explains. \u201cWe discuss how that impacts the Latinx community and us as students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To reach out to the broader community, the club has planned and hosted a panel called \u201cFinding Latinx,\u201d a lunch to share different Mexican foods, teaching traditional Latin American dances in an event called \u201cBaila Conmigo,\u201d and a celebration for D\u00eda de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the \u201cFinding Latinx\u201d panel, three students of different backgrounds spoke about their relationship with the term and identity \u201cLatinx.\u201d The students\u2019 identities were at the intersection of Afrolatinx, Latin American and a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program. They shared their thoughts about identifying as Latinx or not based on their identities and life experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an opportunity for the community to hear different perspectives. On the census and stuff Latinx is boiled down to one box, but it\u2019s so much more than that,\u201d Rios-Cruz says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Baila Conmigo, we taught bachata, salsa and merengue on the Heart,\u201d Rios-Cruz says. \u201cIt was all laughs and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopes for future programming include bringing in more guest speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlfredo Zuniga and Angel Mu\u00f1os talked to us about their career paths as Latinxs,\u201d Tobon says. Zuniga and Mu\u00f1os are professors of psychology. \u201cThey talked about how to navigate grad school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope to have our club members get inspired and ask questions about the process,\u201d Rios-Cruz adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group would like to add more events during Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and Spanish conversation hours where Spanish speakers of all levels can speak Spanish and have fun with board games and karaoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pura Vida gave its members a deepened sense of community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComing from a minority background, having this club meant having people around I could connect with,\u201d Rios-Cruz says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prospective students, Tobon says, \u201cThis is a safe space for Latinx identities and those interested in the Latinx community to acknowledge and be aware of the different cultures and traditions. This is a club for you all to express yourself,\u201d she continues, \u201cand to feel more at home. We would love to have you all here and maintain that connection with your Latinx identity and learn more from it together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was written by Somer Eckert, Earlham Class of 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Media contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brian Zimmerman<\/strong>
Director of media relations
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Email: zimmebr@earlham.edu
Phone: 765.983.1256<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n