La Alianza is a Latino student organization on campus that serves the Latino community, celebrates their culture and supports Latino students at Case Western Reserve University. On Saturday, Sept. 10 from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. at The Jolly Scholar, the group put on their bi-annual Noche Latina with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE),a group that focuses on the development of Hispanics in all STEM fields.

The event’s slow start at the beginning didn’t look promising. For about an hour, there was no one really present, and there was certainly no one dancing. The only free food was subpar chips and popcorn with salsa, though you could use a meal swipe to get more options. However, as the night progressed, all the night owls came out, and the party really started. Within no time, the venue was packed and everyone was dancing to the music. While The Jolly Scholar might not have been big enough to pack everyone in without feeling like a sardine, it definitely had its appeal for the event, as those who could drink mustered up a lot of liquid courage, amping up the energy in the room.

As for the music, it had its mix of good and bad from DJs Latin Assassin and Flaco Flash. Some selections were the authentic reggaeton, bachata, salsa and merengue songs that were promised, but quite a bit of the selection was just current pop hits remastered into “Spanglish” and songs from Pitbull. Some enjoyed this, however, like second-year student Tessa Askew, who said she enjoyed the DJs because “they played a great mix of traditional salsa and mainstream music”. While the music was fun to listen and dance to, it did reach a point where it was too loud for my ears and I feared for my hearing after the event was over. Though I suppose the event truly would not have been club-style if I could hear other people talk.

All-in-all, the event was a welcoming stark contrast to the norm that is usually CWRU’s social events. Many enjoyed themselves such as second-year student Nichola Bomani who said she thought “the music and crowd were great despite it starting an hour late.” Everyone seemed to have a good time, and it was nice to let loose at the start of the semester before we all get lost in our textbooks.

Event: Noche Latina

Group: La Alianza and SHPE

Where: The Jolly Scholar

When: Saturday, Sept. 10, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

Rating: 4 ½ Stars