Brandeis Latinx Student Organization (BLSO) recently hosted their annual culture show, Incendio. At the event, BLSO board members explained that “Incendio is meant to be a gateway into this diversity [that makes up Latin America]”
The event, which was held in Levin Ballroom on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., included performances by musical groups and choreographed dance performances.
Mariachi Veritas de Harvard, Harvard’s only mariachi band, played first. As they played mariachi songs, people danced through the crowd and appreciated the unique opening act. Juan Jimenez, BLSO’s Events Coordinator, performed a few songs designed to “make everybody fall in love,” according to the introduction given by other BLSO board members.
Then, audience members were called up to the stage for a game of musical chairs—but BLSO decided to up the ante: contestants had to keep dancing while they were walking to keep from being disqualified. After the game of musical chairs, Kaos Kids— the university’s premier competitive hip-hop dance crew— according to their Facebook page— performed to a medley of several pop songs.
Dinner was then served, catered by Los Chamos of Lynn, Massachusetts. After attendees enjoyed the Venezuelan cuisine, there was another dance performance followed by a dance competition for audience members. Contestants danced bachata, salsa and finally to a Bad Bunny song, with the winner being determined by applause levels from the audience.
Finally, several piñatas were broken open by the winners of musical chairs, the dance competition and the raffle (attendees bought tickets for a chance to hit a piñata, with proceeds going to Sociedad Latina, an organization promoting the empowerment of young Latinos, according to their page). After breaking the pinata, participants chose a prize: either a JBL speaker, an axolotl plushie or a LEGO set.
To close out BLSO’s annual cultural show, there was one final musical number before the board members gave a sendoff, adding a “Huge thank you to everyone who came to Incendio” via their Instagram account.
