La Casa Latina created an atmosphere of love in the air at their “Valentine’s Sin Ti” event on Feb. 13, giving students the opportunity to come and go as they pleased.
The main focus of the event was a craft: pillow making. The event’s hosts, Casa Latina resident Paula Guzman (‘24) and Community Advisor Tattyanna Morales-Vega (‘23), laid out a table full of fun fabrics––all comforting and soft in texture and including two with cat patterns on them––to choose from when making a pillow.
As students worked on their comfortable crafts, a few boxes of Valentine’s Day chocolates and bottles of orange juice were available for snacking. The theme house hosts had also set up photo backgrounds, one of which was additionally accompanied by an enormous teddy bear to pose with.
And, of course, no cozy evening would be complete without a movie. The film selected for this particular event was the Mexican film “Como Agua Para Chocolate,” directed by Alfonso Arau, which translates to “Like Water For Chocolate” and is based on a book of the same name by Laura Esquivel. It tells the story of the complex, tragic love life of a young woman as she navigates familial expectations and breaks generational curses, all set against the dangerous backdrop of the Mexican Revolution.
When asked about the sentiment and thought process behind the event, Morales-Vega said, “Well, we just wanted to have an event to bring people together and something tangible that people can take with them. ‘Valentine’s Sin Ti’ translates to ‘Valentine’s Without You,’ so we wanted to make sure that we acknowledged the feeling of not having a Valentine. But you can be your own!”
Another key facet of the event noted by Morales-Vega and Guzman was the sense of community that the theme houses at Drew emphasize.
“I like the interaction with people and getting to speak about what we are and what we do on campus,” said Morales-Vega, “’cause we are a theme house and since we are a bit secluded and not necessarily living within the dorms, it’s harder for people to hear about us.”
While the theme houses celebrate their respective themes––many of which are cultural or identity-based––within their internal communities, events like the one organized by Morales-Vega and Guzman illustrate the beauty and importance of sharing culture, values and community with the larger community, even through a lighthearted crafting event such as Valentine’s Sin Ti.
La Casa Latina is excited to bring more of their unique vision to the Drew community this semester, so keep an eye out for more events from this wonderful community and crew of people. If you’re interested in joining them next year, posters are up all over campus with this link to their application. You can also email tmoralesvega@drew.edu with any questions.
Chloe Gocher is a sophomore double-majoring in English with a concentration in writing/communications and French, and is minoring in Spanish.
