NHI to host Noche Navideña event

Lillie George, Reporter

Each year, LT’s National Hispanic Institute (NHI) hosts the annual Noche Navideña event at the Corral in order to celebrate their vibrant, Latin American culture and take part in a festive holiday activity on Dec. 6 at 6:30-8 p.m..

“Noche Navideña is a beautiful celebration of Latin American culture,” NHI co-president Angelina Godinez ‘20 said. “For those not familiar with the culture, this is a great opportunity to explore it in a welcoming environment.”

This year will be NHI’s third time hosting Noche Navideña. 

Each club member will contribute a Latin American dish that will be part of a potluck, Godinez said. Noche Navideña is a family-oriented event featuring food, entertainment and guest speakers, who will talk about overcoming their hardships as Latinos and making a difference in their own line of work. 

“NHI is about leadership in the Latino community,” club sponsor Ibet Herrera said. “It’s important for the students to hear [about] these real life experiences.” 

In addition to the three guest speakers, the event will feature a live performance from the Mariachi Sirenas for the second year in a row, Herrera said. This group is known to be Chicago’s first all-female Mariachi.

“It takes time and a lot of teamwork to pull [the event] together, but the end result is always worth it,” Herrera said. “It’s very important to me that [NHI members] value and never forget where we come from.” 

Noche Navideña, translating to Christmas Night, will prove to be a meaningful and fun-filled night, according to Herrera and members of NHI.