The first week of his freshman year, Piero Izquierdo did what any typical freshman would do — venture out onto the streets of Euclid at night with his floormates looking for a party. He was out and about when he heard Spanish music blasting from one of the houses on the street.

From that point on, his Syracuse University experience started to take shape.

Inside the house Izquierdo wandered into were members of the Latin dance troupe Raices, which means roots in Spanish. Raices Dance Troupe, established in 1997, is SU’s only Latin dance group on campus. As National Hispanic Heritage month begins Monday, Raices’ goal is to educate the SU community about Latino culture.

“My heritage is the foundation to who I am right now,” Izquierdo said. “Surprisingly, SU has highlighted that. Had I not run into them (on Euclid), I would have forgotten my culture.”

Raices Dance Troupe celebrates its Hispanic and Latin heritage through dance and choice of music. The troupe not only performs traditional Latin dances like the salsa, bachata and merengue, but also puts a Latin twist on contemporary styles like hip-hop and jazz.

The troupe will display its members’ talents at Fiesta Latina on Sept. 29, one of the many events SU is organizing to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month. Janina Quintero, a senior biology major and co-chair of the troupe, said the group shows off its heritage every weekend instead of just once a year, even though every dancer in the group is not from a Hispanic background.

“By practicing for our shows, we come together to have fun and explore everyone’s backgrounds,” Quintero said.

A big emphasis of Raices Dance Troupe is combining all of the dancers’ cultures into one group, said Marlyn Barros, a junior accounting major and co-chair of the troupe. She added that this means incorporating Dominican, Puerto Rican, Ecuadorian, Haitian and other cultures into their styles of dance and community.

“We embrace. We love to embrace our culture,” Barroso said. “And we embrace our culture through the arts, especially since we’re not all from the same place. We each bring our own style to the floor.”

The dance troupe also celebrates its roots by giving back to their community. The members partner with La Casita, an organization supported by the College of Arts and Sciences, which promotes the culture of central New York’s Latino and Latin American communities. Last year, Raices Dance Troupe taught little girls how to dance salsa and bachata in order to connect them more with their Hispanic backgrounds.

Izquierdo said his favorite part about Raices Dance Troupe is the family atmosphere. The group brought him out of his comfort zone on stage and gave him confidence not only in his dancing, but in himself overall.

As a first generation college student, Izquierdo said he’s learned how to appreciate his culture through the group at SU more than he has at home with his Ecuadorian parents.

“You can ask any troupe member and they will tell you that our relationship goes further than the dance floor,” he said. “The Spanish comes out sometimes and we have to stop ourselves.”

Izquierdo credits the Raices Dance Troupe with helping him remember how important culture is to his daily life. Without it, he wouldn’t have the close friends and family that he appreciates so much today.

“Before this, I didn’t care for the arts aspect of my culture, but now I understand it is a precious part of my culture,” Izquierdo said. “If we try to forget about our culture, it’s going to get lost and now I have more appreciation for it.”

Published on September 15, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Jackie: jmfrere@syr.edu | @jackie_frere