WashU is pretty well versed in cultural shows, what with events like Diwali and Lunar New Year Festival being huge events on campus. While I attended both of those during my freshman year, I somehow missed out on one of the other big ones, Carnaval. Carnaval is a celebration of Latin American and Spanish culture put on by the Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) each spring. I was able to go to one of the shows this year and it was incredible!! There was a lot of dancing, as I have come to expect from all the cultural shows here, but the atmosphere was lively, with great music and a skit. Some of the dances included bachata, belly dancing, hip hop, salsa, and more. The students put together a great show, the proceeds of which went on to benefit program started by a faculty here on campus called Niños, Cambios, and Puertas, which aims to better the education of Latin American students right here in St. Louis by providing youths with tutors as well as additional activities that, depending on the age level, foster the importance of both staying in school as well as continuing education. It was a great show, but unfortunately I couldn’t get any pictures to show you guys exactly how cool all the performances and the costumes were, but those should be pretty easy to access on the WUSTL page, so here’s a picture of me with my friends Katie and Annie after the show instead!
