By Mara C. Martinez
ROME, Oct 7 - Salsa has arrived to John Cabot University.
On Tuesday, Oct. 3, JCU's Student Services hosted a salsa dance demonstration where a professional dance couple performed a combination of basic and very sophisticated moves of the exotic dance.
The interest was evident. Nearly 40 students, a mix of American, Latino, and Italian-born attended the demonstration and stayed after for the one-hour introductory dance lesson.
Due to the high turnout, and in an effort to reach out to the growing population of Latino students, JCU is now offering free Salsa dance classes.
Salsa offers a nostalgic comfort to those eager to attend the dance sessions. “When I feel stressed, I go [salsa] dancing, and, afterwards, I feel great,” says Jesus Hernandez, a Colombian student who has been at JCU for three years.
Alexandra Resto, a Puerto Rican student who arrived in Rome a month ago, says the dance sessions make up for the lack of authentic Puerto Rican food in Rome. Like her, many other students of Latino decent feel the need for “a piece of home”.
“I love my stay in Rome. I love everything about it,” says Camila Pazos, a 20 year-old Colombian who arrived last month to study at JCU. Though, she later admitted, she couldn’t deny she missed the music and the food from her tierra, or homeland.
Regardless of their specific Latino background, whether they are here for a semester or have been here for years, or whether they miss their food or music more, the Latinos (those who hail from the Americas) at JCU always keep in mind their heritage and try to find comforts away from home.
Luckily, JCU has adapted to the diverse interests of this diverse student population, and has found ways to make them feel at home.
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