Each year, LT’s National Hispanic Institute (NHI) hosts the annual Noche Navideña event at the Corral in order to celebrate their vibrant, Latin American culture and take part in a festive holiday activity on Dec. 6 at 6:30-8 p.m..

“Noche Navideña is a beautiful celebration of Latin American culture,” NHI co-president Angelina Godinez ‘20 said. “For those not familiar with the culture, this is a great opportunity to explore it in a welcoming environment.”

This year will be NHI’s third time hosting Noche Navideña. 

Each club member will contribute a Latin American dish that will be part of a potluck, Godinez said. Noche Navideña is a family-oriented event featuring food, entertainment and guest speakers, who will talk about overcoming their hardships as Latinos and making a difference in their own line of work. 

“NHI is about leadership in the Latino community,” club sponsor Ibet Herrera said. “It’s important for the students to hear [about] these real life experiences.” 

In addition to the three guest speakers, the event will feature a live performance from the Mariachi Sirenas for the second year in a row, Herrera said. This group is known to be Chicago’s first all-female Mariachi.

“It takes time and a lot of teamwork to pull [the event] together, but the end result is always worth it,” Herrera said. “It’s very important to me that [NHI members] value and never forget where we come from.” 

Noche Navideña, translating to Christmas Night, will prove to be a meaningful and fun-filled night, according to Herrera and members of NHI.