“Calentura,” meaning feverish, frenzied, and fiery, certainly lived up to its name throughout the night at Baruch College’s Mason Hall. The night’s seductive salsa movements, provocative singing, and heartfelt poetry definitely served to ignite the stage and hearts of many audience members. Latinos of Puerto Rico, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, and many more all came together that night to celebrate their respective unique and vibrant cultures. These Latinos, known for their fiery personalities, surely added their spiciness into each and every performance throughout the night.
The audience was first welcomed by the host, Marc Anthony Soto. Marc fired up the crowd with questions such as, “How many Dominicans are in the crowd?” These questions successfully instilled the audience with a sense of patriotic pride and frenzied excitement, as they all cheered and hooted for their individual ethnicities. After a series of energized applause, Marc finally introduced the first performance of the night: Salsa International.
The audience was bombarded with dancers wearing vivid colors of bright blue dress shirts, contrasted bluntly with white pants. The salsa dancers danced with each other using provocative dance moves, relying on their body movements to communicate with one another. Hips gyrating to the music, the dance moves were incredibly sensual, earning several loud hoots from the appreciative audience. The dance was playful, spicy, and the music was so upbeat that the audience cannot help but keep their eyes focused on the stage.
But Calentura was not only about fun and games. It was a reflection of a greater celebration of Hispanic culture in itself. Latino Heritage month celebration starts every year on September 15 and ends October 15. This is the month were people celebrate their history and their culture as Latino Americans. As Marc, the host recited some new statistics of Hispanics opening their own businesses and graduating from college, the audience cheered with pleasure, recognition, and pride. These people should be honored of their achievements, having faced economic, political, and educational obstacles, all coming together to celebrate together that very night at Calentura. This sense of triumph was also evident in every performance throughout the night.
Ariana Solis then took the stage with a performance of Selena’s classic song, “Si Una Vez.” Ariana starts with, “yo de ti todo mi amor y mas,” the classical introduction to the song. With her powerful voice, she conveyed her frustrations towards love, the pain she suffered because of love, and finally empowerment when she realized she does not need love. Her spicy personality shined through her performance as she sung “Si una vez dije que te amaba hoy me arrepiento,” with a growl. If I told you once that I loved you, I regret it now. The audience most likely empathized with the song’s message of struggle and empowerment, seeing that everybody had went through obstacles of suffering, but has come tonight to celebrate the very fact.
The audience members by no means lacked the “spiciness” showcased by the performers, and Calentura is definitely not complete without a dance off. Marc challenged audience members to go up to the front of the stage for a dance off of “Teach me How to Dougie.” One particular audience wowed the audience while he did an almost perfect imitation of “Teach me How to Dougie.” By the end of the dance off, everybody was definitely heated up. The simple dance off showcased their lively spirit, all present that night to celebrate their Hispanic heritage.
Calentura is not only a combination of enjoyable performances, but also used to further a great cause. All proceeds of the show that night will be donated to the Latino Youth for Higher Education Program. The Latino Youth for Higher Education Program is a nonprofit organization that hopes to reach out to minority students, especially those of Latino descent. Their mission is, “in improving the quality of education for low income students, especially those of Latino origin and new to the country.” They want to help students get into college, to get a better education, and, ultimately, to get a better life. This organization hopes to achieve these honorable goals though the use of workshops, tutoring, mentoring, and scholarships.
This nonprofit organization aims to educate students so that they can be the best that they can be. Their achievements were prominent throughout the night’s performances. In Brandon Moss’ performance, “Kids these Days,” he recites an original poem about how kids seem to have lost sight of their history, “forgetting the pain and that a century ago, they would have most likely be in chains.” Just sitting on a simple stool taken from the Baruch cafeteria, speaking into a small microphone, Brandon captures the pain that his ancestors have suffered a century ago and the burden he still feels today. Calentura was not only a night to celebrate Latino culture, it was also a night to reflect and ponder the past, present, and future. Brandon Moss is definitely not one of the “kids these days,” which was exactly what the LYHEP was hoping for- that these minority kids will able to realize their potential and run with it.
Later on in the night, kids that were sponsored by LYHEP came to perform a special poem. Two kids, two typical teenagers wearing a simple sweatshirt and jeans sat in front of the stage. One of them was playing simple notes on a guitar, the other reading a heartfelt poem in Spanish. Voice cracking a bit, probably from performance anxiety, he started to read his poem. The audience members who know Spanish were captivated by the simple elegance of his craft. Even those who didn’t know Spanish were captivated by the simplicity and emotions conveyed by the poem, “Te quisas te amor,”-I want you to love me. The two kids were yet another success of the LYHEP organization. In that performance, it was clear what people came out to celebrate that night-culture and empowerment.
Calentura was definitely hot. The sensual dancing, the provocative music, and the sensual language are definitely hallmarks of Latino culture. However, the night also had its reflective movements, brought by heartfelt emotions and thoughts. Calentura wasn’t only spicy; it also threw in flavors of sweetness, sourness, and bitterness to the mix, providing the audience with yet another unforgettable night.
