by Kaitlyn Fudge ’23,
Contributing Writer
This past Saturday, Oct. 5, La Vanguardia celebrated its 35th anniversary of becoming an organization at Hamilton. The event was sponsored by the Days-Massolo Center and La Vanguardia. La Vanguardia is a club that embraces and celebrates the Latinx community on campus and holds various events throughout the year.
The day began with a community talk at the Days-Massolo Center featuring a speech from one of La Vanguardia’s original founders, Larry Arias ’84. He discussed his struggles growing up, raising a family, and being the son of immigrants. He put added emphasis on the importance of taking pride in one’s roots and heritage, in addition to detailing the challenges he experienced in helping to create La Vanguardia.
Both Arias and Danny Garcia ’84 were members of BLSU (Black Latin Student Union) while they attended Hamilton but say they did not find the sense of community they were looking for. This prompted them to try to make their own club, but they were met with great difficulty in doing so.
Throughout Hamilton’s history, Latinx students have faced an array of challenges in their attempts to create a sense of community and belonging for themselves. As Arias outlined, there were not many Latinx students on campus while he attended Hamilton, which he said made it difficult to start a club dedicated to celebrating Latinx culture.
At the talk, there was also discussion about how the popularity of the club has varied throughout the years. Sandra Ortega ’97, who served as treasurer, vice-president, and president of La Vanguardia during her time at Hamilton, recalled being one of few Latinx students on campus and said La Vanguardia was like a second home for her; she added that she hopes that it will embody a similar role for future students as well.
The talk ended around 12:30 PM, and the group moved from the Days-Massolo Center to the Events Barn, where there was plenty of food waiting. Tostones, empanadas, and arroz con gandules were some of the most popular foods. There was an opportunity for attendees to sit, eat, and catch up with each other.
After about a half-hour, alumni and current students discussed the importance of La Vanguardia in their life, and how it has had a lasting impact since its creation 35 years ago.
For dessert there was flan, and it was gone almost instantly. Following the meal, the next event was a “block party” held in the Events Barn. At this point, people walked around and got to know everyone in attendance and listened to the music.
Conversations between alumni and current students centered on their thoughts and hopes for the future of La Vanguardia. Many said they hope that La Vanguardia continues to support and embrace Latinx students on campus and gains more members from future class years.
