Calentón Music Fest makes history as first Hispanic music festival at SU

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Goldstein Auditorium was transformed into a music festival Saturday with a dance performance, DJ set, and performance by Puerto Rican artist Maldy. Crowds of people roamed around the auditorium purchasing food, dancing and enjoying Calentón Music Fest 2023 with their friends.

“Calentón Music Fest is a door for new opportunities in Syracuse. It’s the first Hispanic/Latine music festival in the history of SU,” said Germán Nolivos, president of Las Naranjas, a Spanish language and culture club at Syracuse University. “It aims to celebrate the traditions, the contributions of the Latino students and the Latino community on campus.”

The crowd got electrified as Maldy walked onto the stage to perform hit songs like “Candy” and “Es un Secreto.” Las Naranjas and La L.U.C.H.A., an organization of Latinx undergraduate students, collaborated with the Student Association to help organize this festival.

At the concert, tables were set up by clubs like Puerto Rican Student Association and Caribbean Student Association, who sold piña coladas and empanadas. Along with food, there were free t-shirts, sunglasses, foam light up wands and stickers for those who attended.

Nolivos and Naranjas vice president Maria Quinones worked as the event chairs for the concert. Volunteers of the festival arrived at 9 a.m. to hang balloons, set up a photo booth and lay items to give away on tables around the auditorium. The event opened at 3 p.m.

“We’re not partnering with the regular school organization who does these types of events. So we have to find everything from zero,” Nolivos said. “For the majority of us it’s the first time building an event.”
Fernanda said this event holds significance for minorities on campus because of its size. It compares to events such as Juice Jam and Block Party, but it celebrates a specific community.

“It’s simply just a space that we haven’t had before. So we want to create a tradition on campus to have this sort of event close out Hispanic Heritage Month,” Fernana said. “But not only that, just to establish our presence here and our capability to throw this type of large scale event.”

Joe Zhao | Asst. Photo Editor

Dance group Raíces took the stage at Calentón Music Fest this weekend. Performing with Spanish music, their performance was energetic and garnered a lot of applause.

Nolivos said events like “Él Calenton” are a great way to increase inclusivity on campus, but there is more work to be done. He doesn’t feel like SU has done a proper job representing the Hispanic community on campus, especially since the population is small.

“We talk a lot about inclusion, but I think what the university can do is support us,” Nolivos said. “That starts by admitting more students of color that starts by changing the institution from being a PWI, and having more students of color in their student body.”

According to SU’s Fall 2023 Census, Hispanic/Latino students represent only 10% of the entire student population.

Anabelle Canals Olivencia, a sophomore in the Newhouse School of Public Communications, attended the concert and said it was a good way of meeting new people and strengthening her ties with current friends.

“It was really special meeting new people and connecting with people that I already knew,” Olivencia said. “I feel like now that people see this, and see that it was a success, I think that’ll inspire more events like this and more people will have the courage to make their own Hispanic activities.”

Olivencia said the festival was an opportunity for Hispanic people to showcase their culture at the predominantly white institution, creating a space for Spanish-speaking students.

“There are a bunch of other music festivals like Juice Jam and Block Party but having one that was tailored for us and that was for Latinos and by Latinos was really special to me,” Olivencia said. “In a predominantly white institution, there aren’t that many opportunities for us to be able to showcase and get together and hear music and have somebody that speaks our language.”