The Latin American Association hosted its second annual Around the World in 22 Bites event this past Tuesday. Named for the 22 countries of South America, the event showcased the diverse and delicious flavors of Latin America in both its food and dance. The celebration attracted over 100 students to eat and dance over the span of two hours.
The night started with a speech from Romulo Quilicho, the newly-elected president of the LAA. During his speech, Romulo explained that the event was not just about food, but a desire to spread cultural awareness across the Stevens student body. Romulo noted that despite making up only 5% of the student population at Stevens, minorities are still a vital part of the Stevens community and it is important for people to know the heritage of others. He also said that the LAA seeks to further integrate itself into the Stevens community so that everyone may enjoy the unique culture they bring. “We want to treat people as family, and the best way we know how to is through food,” said Romulo.
After the opening speech, guests swarmed the tables of food laid out across one of the walls. LAA acquired all the food for the event either through local restaurants or their own members, featuring dishes from Central America, Northern South America, Central South America, and the Caribbean. The dishes included flan, arroz chaufa (fried rice with chicken and vegetables), coxinhas (fried chicken and dough), pastelon de platanos (meat and plantain pie),  chicharron y tostones (fried pork fat and plantain chips), and more. There were also several beverages from Latin America available, including a soda called Guarana.
LAA also planned for a dance company to come perform at the event. However, the company abruptly cancelled a day before the event, threatening to leave 22 Bites with no dancing. Fortunately, the fraternity Lambda Upsilon Lambda stepped in. La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc. was the second multicultural fraternity to form on campus and shares LAA’s goals of spreading and celebrating Hispanic culture as the LAA. The fraternity supplied LAA with a troupe of brothers to provide both music and dancers, who did a traditional Hispanic dance and signature of LUL known as strolling. The dancers proved to be entertaining for the audience, as did the opportunity to dance afterwards by themselves or with friends. LAA also encouraged guests to dress up in sombreros and cardboard masks and take pictures in a photo booth, free of charge.
By the end of the night, it was apparent that 22 Bites was a great success. Over 100 students were in attendance, nearly doubling the number that came last year, which attests to LAA’s commitment to reaching more of the student body. LAA will not be holding any more events this semester, but the organization plans for an eventful fall semester.
