Frederictonians took off their mittens and dressed up with Guatemalan colours and flavours last Friday night at Noche Latina.
Over 200 hundred people gathered at the community centre of the Wilmot United Church to dance to the catchy Latin song Danza Kuduro, enjoy tasty traditional Central American food and raise money to support education and human rights locally and in Guatemala.
Lisa Bamford, executive director of the Multicultural Association of Fredericton, said the event raised more than $3,000 between ticket sales and the silent auction. The auction included items like Costa Rican beer, the Brazilian World Cup soccer ball and crafts from different countries around the globe.
The money will be equally divided between Breaking the Silence Network, an organization that promotes education and human rights in Guatemala, and the Newcomer Scholarship Fund of the Multicultural Association.
“[Noche Latina] is a very empowering experience for everybody involved,” Bamford said. “A lot of newcomers participated in organizing this event and providing entertainment for this event, so it allowed people to share their culture and it also really allows lots of mingling and cross culture interaction.”
The evening was full of rhythms and melodies, including the performance of the famous Mexican song El Rey by a group of Central Americans, a breath-taking singing performance by an 11-year-old Israeli girl and a guitar presentation by one of the organizers of the event, Oscar Tecu.
Tecu came to Canada with his family 12 years ago, leaving a Guatemalan government that didn’t support their divisive advocacy work. This year, Tecu, who is part of the Multicultural Association and the Fredericton chapter of Breaking the Silence Network, decided to make a difference in his community and took the lead organizing the event.
“I’ve been attending Noche Latina since we arrived here to Fredericton, so I’ve been a part of it as a little kid just coming, then as a volunteer, and this year co-organizing it to promote education toward human rights.”
Tecu said the Breaking the Silence Network has already built a school in Rabinal, the small town in Guatemala where Tecu’s father grew up in.
Noche Latina is an annual event organized in Fredericton since 1991. This year the event was successful in supporting local education and Guatemalans in their fight for political, social, and environmental justice.
