laTINO STUDENT union working
for cultural understanding
by KELSEY HERNáNDEZ
LSU president
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As Hispanic Heritage Month has come to an end, the University of Alaska Anchorage Latino Student Union (LSU) has just completed a series of events that spanned from hosting Grammy- nominated female Mariachi Flor de Toloache on campus for a fireside chat to a cooking class, teaching both students and community members how to prepare pico de gallo and ceviche.
This series of events was designed to engage all community members both on and off campus by collaborating with other community partners such as the Anchorage Concert Association, Student Commuter Activity Programs and the Multicultural Center at UAA. The goal was to have something for everyone, a screening of the movie “Coco” for children and families helped to open a dialogue on important aspects of Día de muertos and the importance family in Mexican culture. A cooking class to appeal to the foodies of Anchorage and demonstrate many of the connections that might not be apparent between the cultures of many Spanish-speaking countries such as Ecuador and Peru where ceviche has a long-standing place in both cultural landscapes. We hope to continue promoting our different cultures with a dance next November where we will be teaching students and community members the basics of bachata, a dance that emerged from the Dominican Republic, and Salsa which originated in Cuba. These two distinct and popular forms of dance are important across Latin America and will help to promote further cultural understanding. Our goal as an organization moving forward is to not only help create bridges of cultural understanding, but also to strengthen the ones that exist so in times of adversity, common ground will not be so difficult to find. We want to foster an environment on campus that is welcoming, educational, and fun. LSU is a channel and a home for students to preserve their culture, connect with peers, engage in community service, recreate, and learn. To find out more information about Latino Student Union or future events please visit us on Facebook: UAA Latino Student Union or follow us on Instagram @uaalatinostudentunion |
UAA Latino Student Union. Photo: Courtesy.
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There are many people living paycheck to paycheck every month. I was just like that, falling deeper and deeper into a dark place and didn’t know what to do to get out. I ended up using my credit cards to provide for my family. I wanted to be a Reggaeton singer and because of this, I felt into a lot of debt pursuing my dream, I took many bad decisions like buying luxuries I didn’t need.
Looking for a better position, I took more debt with student loans for my education. When I got into my 30’s, I realized I didn’t have a retirement account. That’s when I found out it was getting too late to take action if my wish was to not work until late in my old age. To change this, I needed to take action. I understood that my income is everything for my family. If my income was lost, my family would have a financial disaster. I recognized that I needed to protect my income, to protect my family. That was my life a few years ago, however, I made the decision to change it. I decided to learn how to make better financial decisions. Now, I can help all those that are in the same situation I was. I am a certified, licensed financial planner and I helped my family get out from the financial stress we were in. By the grace of God, I now have a financial services business that allows me to help all people to plan their finances and protect their incomes. In the upcoming editions, we will talk about all this more in depth. My name is William Báez and it will be a pleasure to help the Hispanic community in Anchorage. For questions or concerns, please contact me at [email protected]. 
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