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Over the weekend, Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) hosted its 19th annual Carnaval—a celebration of Latinx culture and recognition of intersectional issues for the Latin American community—titled “Unidad.”

“We chose the theme ‘Unidad,’ meaning unity, because of everything that has been happening recently in Latin America—the injustices and discriminatory policies allowed,” ALAS’ Carnaval co-chairs and sophomores Michelle Pacheco and Javier Zarazua wrote. “We realized that so much has been happening in individual countries, it’s divided our efforts instead of all of us coming together for each other…Together we are a community dedicated to the success of its people and prosperity of its values.”

Jiyoon Kang | Student Life

Fusion Belly Dance strikes a pose at the end of their performance at this year’s Carnaval. The group takes on the traditional Belly Dance and adds influences from modern dance and hip-hop and this year performed to both Middle Eastern music and to a remix of “Naughty Girl” by Beyonce.

The show featured 11 performances—Cha-Cha, Folklorico, Latin Jazz, Batucada, Mariachi, Salsa, Bachata, Belly Dance, Hip Hop, Senior Dance and Tango—and a skit. The dance and music performances represent the variance across different Latin American cultures. Over 150 students from different backgrounds and traditions were involved in bringing this year’s show together.

Two highlights of the show included the costumes and music. Carnaval costumes ranged from more traditional (Mariachi, Folklorico and Tango) to show-stopping and sparkly (Bachata, Belly Dance and Cha-Cha). The costumes on both ends of the spectrum enhanced the performances and helped students shine on stage. The show also featured popular Latinx music, including hits from Juanes, Luis Fonsi, Selena and Enrique Iglesias.

The skit tackled issues in the Latinx community including colorism, activism and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Interwoven throughout the show, the skit followed two Washington University students navigating the realities of their different experiences with Latinx identity, one being a white-passing, male, upper-middle class citizen with the other being a non-white, female, low-income DACA recipient struggling to keep her family from being deported. The skit featured a discussion about the privilege to protest and the hidden struggles that DACA recipients and undocumented families face.

Jiyoon Kang | Student Life

Carnaval dancers participate in the Belly Dance during the 19th annual Carnaval show, “Unidad,” hosted by the Association of Latin American Students in Edison Theatre this weekend.

Each year, ALAS chooses to support an organization that serves and advocates for the Latinx community. This year, ALAS chose United We Dream for its philanthropy. United We Dream is a youth-led immigrant organization that works to support undocumented youth through local, state and federal advocacy campaigns.

The philanthropy tied in quite nicely with the greater theme of this year’s show: Unidad.

“We wanted to remind each other that our community is stronger together, unidos,” Pachecho and Zarazua wrote.

With everything happening right now for the Latinx community, both in and outside the U.S., now seems like the most appropriate time to band together with a strong message for unity.