Salsa night at Montgomery College an absolute success thanks to the Montgomery College World Arts Festival and The Gathering. The event, part of Hispanic Heritage Month, took place on Thursday, Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Theater Arts building, with music by the Latin salsa band Sin Miedo.

The highly stimulating band did a magnificent job entertaining the audience with the rapid rhythm of salsa music. Band member and double bass player Christian Gonzales was happy with the turnout and noticed that there were “a lot of people.”

Gonzales wasn’t the only one impressed with the salsa event. Dawn Avery, the event’s director, also expressed an optimistic outlook on how the event — which was held in partnership with MC’s The Gathering program — would pan out. The Gathering hosts events on campus that highlight the college’s cultural diversity.

“This is the first [event like this] that actually has dance, music, and food and we are doing it in conjunction with the The Gathering that way we can get all the Latin students involved and all the music students involved. We also want to bring people together, not just the Latin students, but people from all the other cultures together to experience some of the free Latin music.”

In addition to it being a culture event, Avery noted its importance to the music department. “We hope to raise a lot of money for student scholarships. Every penny of it goes to music scholarships for music students — especially those who are studying world music — but it goes to all the music students.”

Marie Smith was one of the many students who attended the event. Smith, who shared that she hadn’t tried or practiced any of the salsa or merengue steps because she is a timid person thought the event was “a lot of fun.” She also liked the fact that it was a group oriented dance.

Bass player Gonzales was happy with how the night went, “Would I come next year? Of course!”