Amigos Latinos Office | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
The Amigos Latinos organization hosted a festive celebration where Wright State University students gathered, blending culture, camaraderie and holiday cheer. The student-led event featured traditional tamales, champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate), and lively games, offering a warm reminder of Nochebuena—Latin America's unique take on Christmas Eve.
Event set-up
This event, like many others from the Amigos Latinos center, was student-led. The club members ordered food and drink several weeks in advance to make sure they would be prepared for all the students who showed up.
The center has put on several “comida” events throughout the year, where they have different Latin American foods to celebrate different holidays.
For this event, they provided tamales and Mexican hot chocolate, or champurrado as it is called in Latin America.
In addition to the food, they also brought several games. The event was open, meaning students could come to spend time with one another, get some free food and play games with their friends.
Andrea Hernandez, the secretary of the Amigos Latinos, shared why this event is important to her.
“Seeing the laughter, everyone together listening to music and playing games, it reminds me of Christmas in Latin America,” Hernandez said.
Purpose of the event
Like the other events the club has put on, the purpose is to bring some Latin American culture to Wright State University, both for Latino students to connect with their culture, and for other students to be educated.
In addition to this, the event was also put on to give students an opportunity to take a break from the stress of finals and have some food and some fun.
Felipe Perez, the president of the Amigos Latinos club, shared why he likes putting these events on.
“It is a great opportunity for students to come together, de-stress from exams and finals, play Mexican games, eat food and have a good time,” Perez said.
Latin American Christmas
The biggest difference between how the U.S. celebrates Christmas and how it is celebrated in Latin America is that in the U.S., people wait until Dec. 25 to open presents and have a meal with family, and that is usually the end of the holiday.
However, in Latin American countries, the Christmas celebration starts on Christmas Eve and goes through the night. They will open presents at midnight; some choose to celebrate with fireworks and continue the party until the morning. This is called Nochebuena.
“Nochebuena is on Dec. 24, also known as Christmas Eve. Nochebuena translates to ‘the good night’ and is celebrated in distinct ways by different cultures and religions,” USA Today reads.
Be sure to watch for more comida events from the Amigos Latinos center next semester and join in on the cultural fun.
