Latino Gala at Brown

Another interesting event. Joe had considered jeans because it was at a college, but this is 2012, and Brown, and the Latino Heritage Month with the Brown Latino Club -suits and cocktail dresses. We dressed nicely, not too flashy.
Our friend's son, a senior at Brown warned us that there would be student performances as well as Jesus Andujar and Grupo Sazon (sazon= ripeness or flavoring). Good performances, in fact. The Brown Mariachi Band played beautifully as we came in. We also saw the Latino Dance Troupe formation, one song only, good dancing.
Finally the band started. The bandleader told them to dance as if it were their Quinceanera - 15th birthday party when the Latina girls dress up and dance.
First, "El Quarto de Tula", a traditional Cuban song about putting out a fire. The firemen with their big hoses can take care of that girl.There was not a lot of agreement as to how to dance. Most of them haven't danced as partners much at all. The young men from the troupe were popular and the heavy-handed one managed to get the girls to follow.
For Oye Como Va, we did our Cha cha. Latinos don't Cha cha, but one couple must also do the Brown Ballroom Dance Team, so they joined us.
The floor was crowded for the Merengue, a dance everyone understands.
No one stood up for the slow dance.
$10 included dinner?! Donated by the Mexican and the Jamaican restaurants, we got rice and beans (what else), baked chicken or cheese flauto (fried burrito rolled skinny with cheddar filling), and a flan dessert. Soft drinks.
There was some confusion as to Order of Events, so the music started late even though the band was there. They thought they started at 7, but they got to eat. And it was over at 9:00. No alcohol fueling the party feeling.
Our friend's son was in the library working on a thesis paper.
We heard a Freshman speak, "Amazing, not only helpful but also life changing, etc." A Senior spoke very well about learning from your failures.