October is Hispanic Heritage Month at Brandeis and AHORA!, Brandeis' Hispanic student organization, is one of the organizations that planned a plethora of events to celebrate Hispanic culture at Brandeis. Events included an introduction at which State Senator-Elect Jarrett Barrios addressed the audience, salsa dancing at the Stein, talks on Latino sexuality, and a movie night. Everything culminated with the Main Event, "Latino Revelations: Mi Vida, Mi Sangre, Mi Reflejo (My Life, My Blood, My Reflections).""Hispanic Heritage Month is about celebrating the contributions Latinos have made to this country and in the world," Jasmine Vallejo '02 said, who participated in the main event. "It is about celebrating ourselves and what we have accomplished and sharing our culture with those who don't know or want to know more about who we are, where we come from, and what we have to offer."

"This month is a time when Hispanics take time to recognize the essence, beauty, uniqueness, and importance of their culture," AHORA! Co-president Sheralyn Diaz '04 said.

Diaz said that, it is essential for AHORA! to expose and educate the campus about the Latino community. "We (Latinos) are so diverse, and have so much more to offer than sexy singers. AHORA!'s mission is to make sure that this month is a time where we can give Brandeis a taste of who we really are through the various activities and events," she said.

Coordinator Ana Yoselin Bugallo '03 said it is important to celebrate one's culture - especially if it is an American minority. "This year, the celebration was more personal, saying this is my culture - these are all the aspects, some that constrict, and some the liberate," Bugallo said.

"This is the entirety of my heritage that I share with you. This is what my life has been, and what I want to share with you," she said.

"We didn't focus on what we felt people wanted to see in our main event, but rather, the things that we rarely get a chance to portray. Our lives as art, our poetry as a reflection of our presence, and our blood as the ties to a culture we love," she added.

"We had record attendance at this year's event, especially the sexologist were we saw so many people who were not a part of ahora take advantage of the events," she said.

Diaz says that out of the six events held, the Main Event was her favorite "It took the most planning and time, but it was were we got to do exactly what we wanted to do the way we wanted to do it," Diaz said.

Diony Elias '04, AHORA! Co-President, agrees.

"Tonight (Sunday), AHORA! was able to capture the true essence of the Brandeis Latino: unique, beautiful, and multi-talented," he said.

Diaz said that Madam Josefina's Cha Cha Class, an act during the Main Event, captured the "essence of AHORA!."

"We had a very diverse group of dancers, from Indian to Puerto Rican to African American and from freshman to seniors. We all worked together and formed a family. With Hispanic Heritage Month we want to share our differences, but not so that we can segregate ourselves, but so that we can learn from one another and appreciate the beauty of each culture and understand each other more fully. This was what the dance really meant to me," she said.

"In reality, it would be impossible to pick out my favorite act because this year every act was significant," Diaz added.

Diaz wishes that everyone at Brandeis could have attended events during Historic Heritage Month.

"I feel that they would have all come away with a renewed understanding of who Latinos are and what AHORA! is really about," she said. "The important thing was that we are starting to get a bigger audience to expose to our culture. I feel that this is a big step for Brandeis."

"As a socially progressive university we should strive to educate ourselves on what is foreign to us and this will allow us to become better people who will be able to make more of a difference in this world. I hope that every cultural club realizes their importance and continues all of the hard work to teach us all about the beauty of their culture," she adds.

Bugallo said she believes that over the span of her four years at Brandeis Hispanic Heritage Month has contributed significantly to the understanding and influence of Hispanic culture on campus. She added that AHORA! now gets bombarded with e-mails to attend political rallies on behalf of the Latino constituency, clubs are coming to AHORA! for co-sponsorship "on a daily basis."

"We have grown into a community within ourselves, within the ICC and within the Brandeis community, that is not only known for our dancing, but also for our issues, our political commitments, and our unity. This is the greatest achievement of Hispanic Heritage Month," Bugallo added.