The third Salsa Night was held Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Banquet Rooms of the Oakland Center from 7 to 10 p.m., and featured food, dancing, a best-dressed competition and caricature artist.

The event was co-sponsored by the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the Spanish Club. Music was provided by WXOU 88.3, and for some, extra credit was offered to encourage event participation.

“I love the open dance after I’ve learned steps,” Diane Aguirre, president of HALO, said. ”I’m a beginner with salsa.”

Dance the night away

The salsa instructor for the evening was Rich Jaramillo, who was recommended to Aguirre by a friend.

“This is our first time using him. We really like his energy,” Jorge Garcia, vice president of HALO, said.

Throughout the evening, Jaramillo taught students how to salsa, Merengue and Bachata.

Salsa is a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Latin and North America, according to www.dancelessons.net. The website went on to discuss the Spanish meaning for “salsa,” which is sauce. Salsa is known to be an extremely flirtatious dance requiring saucy moves.

Dressed to impress

“It wasn’t a requirement to dress up, but we encouraged people to dress up. The more people we get, the more fancier than we intend to make it,”Garcia said.

A best-dressed competition was added to Salsa Night for the first time.

“I’ve never been to Homecoming, it’s kind of got that feel,” Jae Kim, senior, said.

Kim and his date for the evening, Shannon Coughlin, took home the title for best-dressed.

“I really didn’t expect to win,” Kim said.

Another addition to Salsa Night was a caricature artist who came to draw pictures of students. They designed a process to assure students would not have to stand around waiting in line by having numbers shoot up on a projection screen.