Students interested in Latin dance, music and culture should be sure to attend this year’s Salsa in the Streets event. On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center’s Latino Student Association will host the association’s annual. 
  The Latino Student Association, whose goal is to bring Hispanic and Latino culture together at Mississippi State University, hosts the event in order to kick off their celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins every year on Sept. 15 and then ends on Oct. 15.
     Beginning at 7:00 p.m., The Latin Dance Club will begin teaching Salsa to any interested students located in the bricked area between the Union and Lee Hall. 
 
The Latin Dance Club will be teaching different styles of Salsa at an entry level, so no experience is required for students interested in participating. 
   Having a dance partner is also not necessary to participate in the Salsa lesson. The Latin Dance Club’s classes are designed to prepare students with no background in Salsa dancing to participate in the Salsa in the Streets event.
   The event will begin in full at 8:00 p.m. This year will be the first time Salsa in the Streets will have live music. Music will be provided by a four-member mariachi band. However, unlike more traditional Mariachi bands which consist of trumpets and stringed instruments, one member of the band will be a drummer. In addition to the inclusion of a drummer, the mariachi band will differ from traditional mariachi music, which is a slower “folksy” style of music, in that the band will be playing more upbeat music for the event.
      Free chips, salsa and other food will be provided by local restaurants and available to participants at the event.
   In the United States, Hispanic Heritage Month began as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. President Ronald Reagan expanded Hispanic Heritage Week to Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988 with the passing of Public Law 100-402 on Aug. 17, 1988. The observance of Sept. 15 as the official beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month was chosen due to the date’s significance as the date of independence for several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
  The Latino Student Association is located in the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center. Founded in Sept. 2015, the organization is home to students from over 10 different countries and is intended to bring together a community of students of diverse cultural backgrounds to share the students culture within the organization and with the wider MSU community through events such as Salsa in the Streets.
   The organization also promotes networking, developing a Latino student and alumni community, developing Latino student leaders and becoming involved in community services. Students interested in becoming involved in the Latino Student Association can become members by attending the Latino Student Association’s meetings at the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center.