Rick Reyes performs in both Spanish and English at the second installment of CAB’s Coffeehouse Series (Photo Merlyn Maldonado/The Gettysburgian)
By Lizzie Hobbs, Staff Writer
On Thursday, October 11, the College Activities Board (CAB) hosted the second installment of their Coffeehouse Series, a set of live musical performances hosted in the Junction in the College Union Building.
Thursday’s performance, however, was special in that it was co-sponsored by the Latin American Student’s Association (LASA), in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
The performer, Rick Reyes, described his musical style as a mixture of many different genres, including classic American rock, merengue, jazz, and Latin, with the vast majority of his performance being in Spanish.
Reyes intermixed his own pieces with well-known music from such countries as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, which was clearly popular with the audience as a few members began to sing along with him.
Throughout his performance, Reyes discussed what the word “Latino” meant to him, and his thoughts on the “Latino community in the United States,” as well as the ever-growing diversity within that community.
Reyes noted that he found it interesting that the term Latino “put all these different people under the same umbrella,” and gave them common ground, while also celebrating the diversity between cultures.
Reyes introduced his accompanist, joking that he enjoyed watching him being torn over who to root for in boxing matches, seeing as he is both Mexican and Puerto Rican. This sent the audience into several fits of laughter, especially as several members shouted out their own opinions on where his loyalties should lie.
During the night, as part of the Mug Club started during the first Coffeehouse performance, CAB offered a specialty drink of Mexican hot chocolate, in fitting with the theme of the music and Hispanic Heritage Month.
