Cross Cultural Dinner celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Members of the Hispanic Student Association serve a traditional Venezuelan meal at the Cross Cultural Engagement dinner. Photo Credit: Jessica Hubble | Lariat Photographer

By Isabella Maso | Reporter

Every Tuesday night, the Bobo Spiritual Life Center hosts a Cross Cultural Engagement dinner as a way for students to experience different cultures and find a community.

The Hispanic Student Association hosted this Tuesday’s Cross Cultural Dinner, and the Bobo was filled with the smell of garlic and onions that came from the HSA’s cooking.

In the kitchen, were nine members of the HSA frantically preparing and cooking the meal for the evening’s dinner.

The dish? Shredded chicken with rice, vegetables and fried plantains.

“We find that community is built around cooking and sharing a meal, and so we try to focus on that primarily,” said Dr. Josh Ritter, assistant director for Formation. “We try to set up this place as a space of belonging and acceptance, where we talk about cultural humility and we also talk about religious and interfaith literacy.”

Valencia junior Lucila Beuses, explained HSA outreach and service director, the intended impact on the community she wants the organization to have.

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(Right to Left) Sierra Vivadia interviews Katy junior Lucila Bueses about her time living in Venezuela as a young girl and moving to the United States during the Cross Cultural engagement dinner Tuesday night at the Bobo Spiritual Life Center. Photo Credit: Jessica Hubble | Lariat Photographer

“HSA is here at Baylor to make a community for the Hispanic and Latino people that are here. We are also here to teach people about the Hispanic culture and what we are about. Especially now, we are trying to move away from just being Mexican-American to a more diverse organization. We want to include the 20 countries in Latin America.”

This will not be the only event that the HSA will be a part of this semester. According to the HSA website, HSA hosts events throughout the year. Some events include the Hispanic Heritage month banquet, and member meetings.

For more information about the events hosted by the HSA, or if you are interested in membership visit their website.

For more information about cross cultural dinners and events hosted by student organizations visit their website.

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While eating dinner, students can use the conversation cards set out for them to start up deep conversations on a variety of topics. Photo Credit: Jessica Hubble | Lariat Photographer