Qué Rico to host its first large-scale Latin dance showcase

How lovely! 

This is the English translation of UNC’s premiere competitive Latin dance group: Qué Rico.

Qué Rico was formerly a subgroup of Mi Pueblo, and is now an independent student organization. The group is a campus platform of Latin culture that teaches and performs different forms of dance such as salsa, bachata, cumbia and merengue.

Qué Rico competes in the spring, but it will host its first ever Latin dance showcase, in collaboration with N.C. State Latin dance team, Sube Ritmo, this Sunday. The showcase will take place at the Great Hall in the Student Union, and doors will open at 6 p.m.

The event will also have guest performances from multiple on-campus Latinx organizations and include Peruvian food catered from Alpaca Chicken. 

Luisa Peñaflor, co-manager of the club, said that because UNC’s Latinx population is small, it tends to be glanced over on campus sometimes. She believes that having this event will help bring exposure to Latin dance.

“I think there's definitely a need for it,” Peñaflor said.

Multiple members said they enjoy the club’s ability to spread Latinx culture — a culture they may have grown up around at home but not been exposed to at a larger scale.

“It kind of allowed me to connect with my culture, in a way I've never really had access to before,” Peñaflor said. “The connection that this team has has given me has been like no other. I can't explain how it feels to be able to, you know, dance with people who grew up in the same situation as me.”

Sydney Van Buren said she joined Qué Rico to try to expand her knowledge and comfort level with different types of dance. 

She wanted to grow as a dancer in this specific genre that she didn't have much prior experience with. 

Now a choreographer for the club, Van Buren said she puts an emphasis on musicality by letting the music direct how she leads. Her choreography is meant to bring people together and help them form relationships by dancing with partners, she said.

“It helps build friendships and build bonds in a way that you sometimes can't really find in other styles,” Van Buren said.

She said the upcoming event will showcase the team's unique characteristics and its special bond.  

“It gives people a sense of solidarity or a platform, to embrace their culture, embrace it with people, regardless of whether they also identify in the culture,” Van Buren said.

Van Buren, while not identifying as Latinx herself said she is appreciative of the culture, but also has to remind herself to give space to those who are Latina.  

“I'm not a member of the culture, but a guest,” Van Buren said. “In terms of having the only large-scale event happening on campus, I think for me — as someone who's not Latina — to sort of sit back and see people on my team who genuinely love and enjoy and embrace that part of themselves is really special for me to witness.”

Qué Rico recently won first place in "So You Think You Can Dance: Latin Edition," a collegiate competition at Old Dominion University.

Rosa Elias, the club's other co-manager, said that Qué Rico welcomes anyone that’s interested in learning about Latin culture, specifically dance. Elias hopes the showcase this Sunday will expose community members to types of dance they might not know about.

“I think it’s something we all appreciate because we don’t have another outlet like that on campus,” Elias said.

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed some of the types of dance Qué Rico performs, and incorrectly stated the origin organization of the club, which is now independent. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for these errors.