Fifteen

Latin grandmothers have always passed on to us a peculiar piece of advice: ‘Nadie te quitará lo bailado.’ When translated it literally it means ‘no one will take away you´ve danced’ but can be interpreted as ‘Even if you got in trouble, you had fun and no one will take that away.’ And this is what we Latins abide by. We do not need fewer hours of sleep than the rest, or to study less for that tough finance exam, or even have less debt—we just prioritize! And although there are some interesting individuals in our group, here we are in general terms...

Thursdays at Rumor is like mass on Sunday; it does not matter what event you have the next day, you always go to mass no matter what. With a couple of drinks everyone starts confessing, singing in the choir, and praying for an abundance of shots and for the nun, in this case Romy, to pass the chalice. We are a church of non-discrimination; unless you dance like Elaine on Seinfeld, we open the doors of our second home to any who decides to celebrate. And when one of us feels the need to fail, others are there to support and bring them back to the shimmering light of 100 Warrenton and Stuart.

We are continuously adding value to the community. We are of the optimistic species which is sometimes confused with being carefree. I am sure that is the reason they have placed one Latin in every core team. Or is it to avoid having two in the same one? We pass on the knowledge that our grandmother has taught us: In ten-years-time you will never remember what your OP project was about, but you will remember that afternoon when you went to the Muddy in the middle of the day, got drunk before OP and saw the Virgin of Guadalupe appear as a sweat stain on the back of Gerardo “Chiva” Guzman´s shirt.

Oh, by the way, we all have a nickname. Our ways have always been very simple: Don’t worry so much about those presentations; you’ll do well in them. Instead, worry about having enough beer to go around.

But don’t assume it is all foam and no tequila. When in need, we will be there. Together we have been through two knee operations, one malicious appendix injury, one deportation, and three (almost four!!) babies. It is well known, that whenever you need a hand, a Latin will always lend you their foot! Some people may call it harassment, but our great skills as salespeople (remember Fiesta Ardiente next semester!) are positively correlated to supporting those who have so graciously donated their time to organize a great occasion for a few good people.

So the next time you come to a Latin after party, you now know the rules: get a nickname, come thirsty and be ready to dance something you’ll always remember.