“Culture is pride, and pride is success.” The motto of sorority Sigma Lambda Gamma, a Latina based multicultural sorority, was echoed at Fiesta De Noche Saturday night.
The event, “Night Party” in Spanish, was hosted by fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta and sorority Sigma Lambda Gamma to celebrate Hispanic heritage month.
Leroy Ramos, a Marquette alum and lifetime member of Sigma Lambda Beta, said “Fiesta De Noche” is an annual event the Sigma Lambda chapters started in 2003 to share their culture and pride with the community.
From 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. free food, dancing and drinks were offered in the Central Mall. Decadent latino inspired food from Pete’s Fruit Market on the south side was served while Aztec dancers performed in front of a large audience. Students lined up to get servings of Mexican and Puerto Rican rice, steak and beans with Horchata to drink, and had the opportunity to decorate maracas and participate in a jalapeno eating contest.
The event was strategically scheduled to coincide with Mexican independence day which was Sept 16.
“Because we are a Latina based sorority we host events that incorporate and share that culture with the Marquette community,” Lopez Cuevas said.
Aside from bringing Marquette together, events like these strive to unite all of the Greek community.
“The goal of the event is to foster unity between the Greek life, as well as bringing awareness to the different cultures and what they have to offer,” Antonio Martinez, president of Sigma Lambda Beta and senior in the College of Business said.
While all of Marquette’s sororities and fraternities participate in philanthropy, Martinez said his fraternity is able to serve differently than other brotherhoods.
“Sigma Lambda Beta is not like every other frat or sorority,” Martinez said. “We have a different mindset, which is how can we give back and better our community, while sharing our culture.”
This mindset Martinez shared is evidenced in the many philanthropic events that both the Sigma Lambda chapters host to create awareness for a range of causes from CPR to breast cancer.
“Honestly we are not doing this for ourselves,” Lopez Cuevas said. “We do this because we love our culture and the Marquette community. We just want to raise awareness while bettering the community which we all take part in.”
Both Lopez Cuevas and Martinez want to invest in a multicultural council in order to create unity between all multicultural Greek life on campus. They each think bringing attention and generating higher attendance to the events put on for Marquette students is one of the best ways the Marquette community can foster unity and pride.
Lopez Cuevas pointed out the importance of unity through events and would love to see a bigger turnout in order to foster that ideal, but while a large audience is important, it is not the overarching goal.
Greek members hold themselves to values that are specific to their respective organizations. Sigma Lambda Beta’s principles include Brotherhood, Scholarship, Community Service & Cultural Awareness. Ramos said these are an essential part in everything his fraternity does.
“Our goal is to live up to our pillars. In that we share our culture, while giving back,” Ramos said.
