HASA hosts Salsa Under the Stars
Gretchen HoukThe Hispanic American Student Association held a virtual salsa dancing lesson at 8 p.m. on Thursday over Facebook live.
A few HASA members, including HASA president Gerardo Santillan, demonstrated the moves together for the online viewers to follow along with.
HASA holds cultural events for University of Central Oklahoma students to help teach them about Hispanic culture and traditions.
Salsa dancing originated in Cuba and was brought to the United States in the 20th century, where it gained popularity in New York.
Salsa is a combination of Caribbean dances and music, and is generally a partner dance. There are many different styles of salsa, like Cuban Salsa, Salsa New York, or Mamba Style.
At Salsa Under the Stars, viewers were taught a simple version of salsa, which they could do with a partner or alone.
They danced to popular Spanish songs like “Vivir la vida” and “Yo no sé mañana.”
Giannina Albines Chaves, a Peruvian student and member of HASA, said her favorite part of the event was the music.
Due to Coronavirus and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing guidelines, the event was not held in person. HASA chose to do it virtually, and had about 20 viewers watch the Facebook live feed.