I love when the energy from everybody comes together. (Contributor / Aruzhan Yessengeldy)
On Oct. 1, Red Oak Records hosted a Latin Night at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center Pit. The event included performances by Ritmo Caliente, the official Latin Dance team at Rowan University, and artists Eni and Gustavo Andres.
Red Oak Records is a student-run organization. It’s a record label that ties directly to music industry major students’ academic classes. Its main purpose is to develop and build up artists, whether they’re locally or internationally.
“For us, it’s all about the content of the music and the passion that the artists have within them,” said Christian Arriola, senior music industry major and Red Oak Records’ head of marketing.
Arriola has also talked about the Latin Night that happened last Wednesday and what their expectations were regarding it.
“We wanted to just shut down the student center, make it like a safe space for all Latinos to pop out and also to introduce Latin artists to the campus,” said Arriola.
The dance team Ritmo Caliente was the first to perform. They set the energy for the start of the event and filled the audience with positive vibes. Their performance was full of passion and rhythm, which instantly lifted everyone’s mood.
Domenica Gusqui Gavidia, the captain of Ritmo Caliente, shared what inspired her to create a Latin dance team.
“What inspired me was mainly being so far from home. I’m an international student, and I was born and raised in Ecuador. And growing up there, I was always involved in music. I was always part of a dance team. My very first memory of dancing was with my dad,” said Gavidia. “He taught me the steps of every dance that I know. So that missing home made me want to have a home away from home. And I couldn’t find any place here that will provide that for me. So I decided to create the team so more people can feel the same way and can share their culture through dancing.”
As all the members come from different backgrounds, the main goal of Ritmo Caliente is to represent each culture through their performances.
Latin Night was a debut performance for one of the headliners, Eni. Hugo Enias Juarez Oliva is a senior music technology and industry major.
“I like to be honest with you, I’m really nervous. Since this is the first performance with my music, I feel like it’s something really special, especially because it’s here at Rowan, where I have studied for the past three to four years,” Juarez said about his debut performance.
Juarez shared that the themes of his songs are usually about love and each has a “little story behind it”, and are very personal to him.
Following Eni’s performance, next up was another headliner of the event, Gustavo Andres. Andres was performing his own songs and is a very passionate and talented artist.
Students were hyped up, dancing next to the stage as the performers brought energy to life. The atmosphere was vibrant and filled with excitement.
“My favorite part was that during the songs, the energy would start to build up, and everybody would go in the front and dance. I love when the energy from everybody comes together,” said one of the student attendees, Michael Domenech.
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