Name: Sandra Briseño
Year: 2017
Sandra Briseño, is a wickedly busy person. You’re likely to see her with a Pygmalion tea in hand as she rushes to and from class, work, and her endless list of activities. When I caught up with with her between Reventón Latino duties on Sunday, I learned about the amazing work that she’s contributing to.
From Chi-town to G-town . . .
Sandra works for the Center for Student Engagement, creates programs for the Women’s Center and the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access (CMEA), and co-chairs for Reventón Latino. Sandra found herself gravitating to various spaces on campus partly due to her senior role model, Laura Aguilar. Laura graduated from the same high school and had helped Sandra choose to attend Georgetown. Once she arrived at the Hilltop, she learned about Reventón Latino, a Latinx dance showcase, and about the Women and Gender studies program.
Finding a Space on Campus
After taking courses in the Women and Gender Studies department, Sandra was introduced to the Women’s Center. Her passion to empower women, particularly those of color, lead her to volunteer and later develop a copartnership with CMEA. Through this partnership, she invited the Georgetown community to programming events like “Celebrating Latinas: Film Screening of In the Times of the Butterflies”, to discuss the prominent role of Latina women in the histories of Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Her goal is to encourage discussion of intersectionality and to develop programming that reflects the diverse Georgetown community.
Reventón Latino Showcase: 9 Years and Still Going Strong
Laura invited Sandra to dance at Reventón and since then, she’s been dedicated to showcasing the Latinx experience at Georgetown through dance. When she performed her freshman year she felt a strong sense of belonging, a feeling that she wants to share with others. Reventón Latino started in 2007 and is the biggest Latino showcase at Georgetown. The showcase’s theme changes yearly, with different line ups of dances, such as samba, reggaeton, cumbia, and bachata. In addition, Ritmo y Sabor (Georgetown’s premier Latin dance group), the World Percussion Ensemble and GU Ballroom Dance are featured performers. Everyone involved is a student volunteer.
Sandra has experienced it all: she was a dancer, an audience member, and a board member. Reflecting back on her experiences with Reventón, Sandra remembers the excitement in the audience, the motivation and adrenaline of the dancers, and the sounds of the participants, overwhelming everyone through the night. Anyone who attends the showcases can vouch for the sore throat you’ll get from the long night of cheering. The appreciation for the Latinx community by the attendees brings warmth and unity to everyone involved. The beauty of the community coming together through performance makes the weeks of work worth it for Sandra.
Not only does Reventón Latino make participants feel good, the ticket sale proceeds are donated to charity. This year, Reventón is donating to Operacion Sonrisa, an organization that provides free surgical procedures throughout Latin America for infants and children with cleft lips and cleft palates.
If you want to learn more about the organizations Sandra is in involved in you can visit the Women’s Center on the 3rd floor of Leavey and like the Reventón Latino page on Facebook to stay updated.