Noche Latina brought a little bit of Latin flavor to over 100 UTM students and faculty last Thursday.

Noche Latina, formerly known as Salsa Night, marks the third dance sponsored by the Spanish Club. These dances are held to share Latin American culture with UTM through song, dance and food. For a $1 donation to the Spanish Club, attendees enjoyed great Latin music, dance lessons and food and beverages. The dances featured at Noche Latina, held in the UC Ballroom, were the merengue, bachata and salsa and were instructed by UTM students.

Each dance was taught in steps by the instructors. After a step was taught, the dancers had a chance to practice what they had learned. The instructors would walk around offering their help with the trickier steps.

The first dance was the merengue, taught by Sergio Bustillo and Meredith Woodard. The merengue is a lively dance that originated in the Dominican Republic. In general, partners hold each other in a closed position and walk sideways or circle each other in small steps. Additional turns and twists can be added.

The dance continued with the bachata, taught by Harrison Woodard and Rina Bustillo. The bachata is a dance that is achieved through sensual hip and body movements. The dance originated in the Dominican Republic and has been influenced by the merengue. The bachata is accomplished through its basic footwork of a series of simple steps to produce a back and forth or sideways motion.

The final dance of the night was the infamous salsa, taught by Bustillo and Meredith Woodard. Salsa originated in New York from a compilation of dances from immigrants from around the world.

Salsa is one of the main dances in Cuba and Puerto Rico and is now known and loved worldwide. The basic movement of the dance is a forward-backward motion, mirroring your partner. Salsa is a dance with varying styles and steps.

“I had a lot of fun and learned a lot too! I would definitely go again,” said April Ring, a freshman Educational Studies major from Union City.

The next Noche Latina is being planned for sometime next semester.

“The Spanish Club looks forward to hosting as many Noche Latinas as students desire because it is a great way for people to learn about Latin American culture while having fun at the same time,” said Brittany McGruder, the president of the Spanish Club.

Currently, the Spanish Club is working on a project to teach English to non-English speakers in the Martin area. The Spanish Club welcomes anyone who is interested in helping with the project.

If you are interested in learning more about the Spanish Club, please attend the next meeting on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Humanities 413. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact McGruder at brimcgr@utm.edu or Jorge Lopez, the Spanish Club’s adviser, at jlopez@utm.edu.