After a long period of hosting exclusively virtual events, the Student Organization of Latinx (SOL) hosted its first in-person event of the year, Mucho Gusto.

The student mixer offered a variety of opportunities to meet new people and eat Venezuelan food catered by Arepas Grill. Mucho Gusto was open to all undergraduate students, giving everyone a chance to eat and dance while getting to know one another. 

Mucho Gusto featured a DJ, a dance floor and a photobooth. SOL has not been able to host in-person events since before the pandemic, and readjusting to planning live events with COVID-19 restrictions was not an easy task.

“It was really hard keeping up with all the vaccination rules and making sure that everyone hired was fully vaccinated,” Odalys Tepi, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’22 and secretary of SOL, said. “It is definitely the right thing to do to make sure every student and staff is as safe as possible.” 

Another important goal that the SOL team focused on was using Mucho Gusto as a tool to encourage sophomores to connect in a way that they were unable to last year. 

Carmen Salazar, the outreach program coordinator for SOL and FCLC ’22, emphasized the importance of making up for the lack of connection to the community that students felt last year. 

SOL expected between 40 and 60 people to attend the mixer, but the turnout was over 100 students.

“Because of COVID-19, our outcome wasn’t as strong as we wanted it to be, but this year we are working on providing everyone with the cultural aspect of the college experience, especially when it comes to making sophomore and freshmen create bonds,” she said. 

SOL expected between 40 and 60 people to attend the mixer, but the turnout was over 100 students.

At the event, it was noticeable that people were having fun. Attendees commented on how well-planned the event was.

“The energy was so good, so much happiness was involved.” Mary Olivette Bookman, FCLC ’24

Mary Olivette Bookman, FCLC ’24, said it was the biggest in-person event she had seen in her Fordham experience. 

“My favorite part is seeing everybody come together after so long and watching people from different backgrounds just chilling out over some good food and music,” she said. “The energy was so good, so much happiness was involved.”

SOL hopes to plan more in-person events like Mucho Gusto and create a safe space to build relationships and foster Latinx heritage, culture and traditions for both Latinx and non-Latinx students. Their next goal is to collaborate with other campus clubs and organizations to host more culturally inclusive events.