Students gathered to watch members of the Latino Student Union give presentations on foreign countries and sing Tuesday night.
Latino Awareness Week is an event hosted each year by LSU. The presentations Tuesday were a part of an event called Quein Soy, Spanish for “Who are you.”
Mayra Lopez, vice president of LSU, described the night as being all about culture.
“It’s a cultural pageant,” Lopez said. “A couple people showcase a country of their ethnicity.”
The night is made up of an informative portion and a talent portion.
“The talent showcase is just an opportunity to showcase their country,” Lopez said. “Some people sing the national anthem or dance.”
The two presenters were Kobe Huynh and Catheline Perez.
Huynh presented on Vietnam, where he was born. He talked about the country’s religion, regions, clothing and food.
For the talent portion Huynh sang a song with his sister, Tina, who is also a University student.
The song was called “Noi Tinh Yeu Bat Dau”, or “Where the love beings.”
“It’s a love song about how a guy and a girl met and how they fell in love,” Kobe said.
Catheline Perez presented on Honduras, the country her family is from.
Perez talked about the different types of people and languages in Honduras as well as their food and U.S. influence.
“The U.S. has influenced Honduras a lot,” Perez said. “Especially since the coup d’état in 2009.”
She also talked about family and how her family being from Honduras has influenced her life.
“It makes me humble,” Perez said. “We have running water and electricity, a lot of people there don’t.”
Perez also sang a song. She said she picked the song, Amor Eterno, Love Eternal, because her mother sang it to her when she was little and also because it reminded her of her father who passed away.
She said she felt nervous singing, but she wanted to show what her country is about.
“I was up until 2 a.m. picking a song,” Perez said. “It’s been a while since I’ve sang in front of people.”
Sarah Rayfield, treasurer of LSU, hosted the event and introduced each presenter.
“I had no idea Cat could sing,” Rayfield said. “I see her almost every other day.”
The presenters were judged by Jill Carr, the vice president of Student Affairs and Albert Perera, who is part of the Office of Student Retention.
Rayfield said she thinks both Huynh and Perez both have good chances on winning.
The winner will be announced Friday at the formal in the Harshman Community Room from 7:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
Also, the formal will be followed by a reception dance at Casa Fiesta at 9 p.m. Admission is $3.
