Students from John Brown University celebrated the Hispanic Heritage Month with events hosted in downtown Siloam Springs and on campus on Sept. 21 and Sept. 23.

Siloam Springs' Memorial Park held the Hispanic Heritage Festival for the third time on Saturday, Sept. 21, where the community celebrated diversity and Latin American culture. The event started at 3 p.m. and included folkloric dances, flavorful food and live music. It was also full of various traditional foods, snacks and handmade crafts that helped local Latino artisans and vendors spread awareness about their products.

Creciendo Juntos, an organization from JBU, also participated in the event. Students in the program volunteered to help clean, orient people to the event and pass out flyers beforehand.

“I really like volunteering in these events because it gets you involved in the whole Siloam Springs community, not just among Hispanics,” Kathy Flores, a junior at JBU, said. “I have been a member of Creciendo Juntos for three years, I think it is a great way for Americans to engage with the Latino community, and it is really cool to be part of it.”

JBU students had their own festival on campus organized by the Council for International Friendship, Honors Scholars Program and Creciendo Juntos on Monday, Sept. 23. Students and faculty gathered on the quad to enjoy performances and snacks and some of them participated in karaoke.

“I went there because they had traditional drinks from Latin America, like Hibiscus Tea and Horchata, but I ended up having a fun time,” Marlon Gaitan, a senior at JBU, said.

Gaitan said he enjoyed seeing the appreciation of the different cultures the JBU student body contains.

“I think it is very special to see my culture represented at JBU and share with others the joy of being part of the Hispanic community,” he added.

Photo Courtesy of Ramon Hernandez on Pexels