This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Gettysburg chapter.
Salsa on the Square is an annual tradition of Gettysburg that brings together many members of the Gettysburg community. It is organized by Project Gettysburg-Leon, a foundation that connects Gettysburg to Leon, Nicaragua, for cultural exchange. Gettysburg and Leon have been sister cities for 35 years and Salsa on the Square is the biggest fundraiser for the project.
Over 2,000 people came to this event on Friday. To close out Hispanic Heritage month with such a large event really goes to show the Latino pride in our community.
At this event, there were food trucks and many community members came out to make food for the town. Live music was played for almost the entire night, with salsa being taught to students and townspeople galore.
There were also many places for kids to get face paint, run around, and play with volunteers from the town and the school. There were many volunteers that came out to watch the kids, play with them, do crafts and paintings, and make sure they didn’t trash the Majestic Theater too much.
Another beautiful sight to see was how many Gettysburg faculty came to support the event. Almost the entire Spanish department was there, and they all brought their adorable kids! If you’ve ever worked at El Centro or Casa de La Cultura swimming, you would have probably seen some familiar faces.
Source Image: Author
As a PLA at El Centro twice a week, seeing my kids come up to me with their families was beautiful and so heartening. In a school and town that outwardly struggles to embrace multicultural aspects of identity, this was a beautiful event to see.
The butterfly picture in this cover represents so much, but one of the most beautiful things it does is address the Butterfly Coalition of Gettysburg College. The Butterfly Coalition works to provide support to undocumented immigrants on campus and combat stereotypes and misconceptions.
There is an extremely large Hispanic community in Adams County, as well as a prevalent Hispanic community on campus. This event was all about celebrating the community and having some fun while doing it!