‘A showcase of our culture’: Mi Pueblo to host Noche gala on April 19

Mi Pueblo is hosting its annual Noche: Elegancía Estelar event next Friday — an end-of-year gala that celebrates the organization’s accomplishments that year.

This year, there will be a variety of Latin American foods, drinks and desserts, as well as music, merchandise, photo booths and more.

The event will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Blue Hill Event Center and is open to anyone interested in attending. Tickets will be sold in the Pit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 9, 10, 12, 16 and 17 for $3 for due-paying members and $5 for non-members.

“I'm just eagerly looking forward to what our Noche Estelar culminates to because even the name just captures the entirety of our team spirit of always shooting for the stars and dreaming big,” Karen Olivares, the director of finance for Mi Pueblo, said.

For many Latino students at UNC, Mi Pueblo is more than just a cultural club. The organization provides a safe space for Latino students to feel represented and heard — something that can be difficult to find elsewhere as students of color at a predominantly white institution.

Bryan Sorto, co-president of Mi Pueblo, said he experienced a culture shock when first coming to UNC due to the lack of diversity on campus.

Jomar Ponce Gamez, Mi Pueblo's first-year representative, spoke similarly of his experiences coming to UNC and said he felt homesick and missed being able to express his culture.

They both said Mi Pueblo became a space where they could feel at home again.

For Olivares, however, Mi Pueblo became a place where she could explore her Latino culture in a way she had never been able to before in her predominantly white hometown, she said.

“Being part of Mi Pueblo really makes you realize how beautiful your culture is, and how much you want to share that with others,” Olivares said. “Meanwhile, when I was back home, I didn't feel the liberty or freedom to really properly express myself and really value that part of me.”

Upon returning home after her first year at UNC, Olivares’ family joked that she had come back “more Latina than when she left.”

Beyond building a cultural community, Mi Pueblo also supports Latino students through mentorship connections and professional development opportunities, such as career guest speaker events.

“It's a lot more than just a small little cultural club,” Jose Cuc-Reyes, a member of the planning committee for the event, said. “It's definitely creating a better network of Latinos in academia and Latinos in professional spaces.”

One of Mi Pueblo's major goals is to share their celebrations of Latino culture with the wider UNC community. Last semester, the club hosted Carnaval in the Pit on the last day of Latinx Heritage Month. The event featured indigenous performances, dancing, Latino food, music and games. Sorto said having students ride the mechanical bull was especially memorable.

Cuc-Reyes also highlighted the event's importance in the Latino community.

“It was a lot of fun because not only were we celebrating our culture or celebrating our people, we were coming together as a community and we were bringing in our friends from different cultures too,” he said.

Mi Pueblo also works to support the UNC community through various awareness and fundraising initiatives, such as raising money for local farmers during National Farmworker Awareness Week and creating care packages with hygiene and care products for local migrants.

Sorto said the Noche event will be bittersweet as he and Co-president Elsa Landeros pass on their roles to the next set of co-presidents, who will be announced at the event.

Ponce Gamez said he is most excited about Noche being able to celebrate everything that Mi Pueblo has accomplished this year and to see all of the event planning come to fruition.

“It's a showcase of our culture and a showcase of our people that I truly don't imagine a Carolina [without] it because it's pivotal for us, and it gives us the space to be ourselves in a place that has consistently put down our voices,” Cuc-Reyes said.