“Shared Roots”: Latinx Club and La Unidad Latina celebrate diverse cultures and foster connections

Graphic by Easton Clark, Photography Editor

Lively music fills the backyard of the Office of the First Generation and Promising Futures Program House. A table filled with snacks and drinks sits ready as guests stream through the gate, ready to partake in an evening of culture, crafts and conversation.

On Sept. 17, Chapman’s Latinx Club and Latino-founded fraternity La Unidad Latina hosted their “Shared Roots” event, open to the entire Chapman community.  

According to Gil Lopez Garcia, a third-year environmental science and policy major and hermano of La Unidad Latina, the gathering was a multicultural event meant to celebrate students for their diversity, and a way to promote their own organization through food and arts.

“The purpose of this event was to provide a space for students of all backgrounds to come together, recreate and socialize, as well as share what aspect of their heritage they wish to demonstrate, because we appreciate and understand the importance of diversity between students and faculty,” Lopez Garcia said.

Lopez Garcia helped spearhead the event alongside La Unidad Latina hermano and fourth-year computer and electrical engineering double major Jose Garcia. 

Chapman’s chapter of La Unidad Latina is relatively new, having been established in March of this year. 

According to hermano Evan Figueroa, although the group is considered a “Latino fraternity,” it is open to men of any background or ethnicity and aims to be inclusive.

The group hopes to help Latinx and other BIPOC communities reach higher education and ensure their success. 

Figueroa began advocating for La Unidad Latina to arrive at Chapman in 2023, during his freshman year. 

“Chapman, having a female-dominated population — and when I had arrived at the time, Chapman was a PWI (predominantly white institution) — lacked a dedicated space where men of color could build a sense of brotherhood and belonging,” Figueroa said. “I felt that establishing this group would provide a much-needed support system and a platform for these students to connect, grow and thrive.”

Located in an actual neighborhood house, the “Shared Roots” event had a homey feeling reminiscent of a casual backyard get-together. 

La Unidad Latina brought a variety of snacks, although guests were also invited to bring snacks representing their own cultures. The spread included offerings such as jalapeño chips, tocinitos (bacon-flavored chips), Japanese-style peanuts (a snack popular in Mexico/Latin America), thin, colorful obleas (a kind of wafer), de la Rosa mazapan (Mexican peanut candy), Doritos Flamas and conchas (a sweet baked good with an appearance reminiscent of a seashell). 

Attendees were invited to take part in craft activities, painting tote bags and small plastic succulent pots as they ate, mingled and sang along to songs such as Maná’s “Oye Mi Amor” and Natalia Lafourcade’s “Nunca Es Suficiente.” 

Many of the guests chose to paint designs representing their culture and heritage. 

Alexa Arostico, a third-year education and English double major and secretary of Chapman’s Latinx Club, wrote “Oaxaca” on her bag to honor her Oaxacan heritage. 

“I feel like most of my identity is overshadowed by my Mexican identity, so I would just want to also emphasize on my Oaxacan roots and just honor that part of my family,” Arostico said. 

To Arostico, there are a multitude of things that set Oaxacan culture apart, from their use of braids and ribbons in hair to their cultural dishes. 

“It's just a completely different environment, and it's very much honed in on the natural beauty of the earth and nature,” Arostico said. 

Aaron Figueroa, a first-year political science major, painted the Tenochtitlan Aztec pyramid (Templo Mayor) as a symbol of his Mexican roots and Mexico’s rich early history. He also wrote “Sinaloa,” the name of the state his roots originate from, in green, white and red — the colors of the Mexican flag — along with his initials and expected graduation year. 

“This design symbolizes how I draw motivation from my roots and my goal of graduating, using both as inspiration on my college journey,” Figueroa said. 

Dehusa Pacheco, a sophomore creative writing major who was born and raised in Peru, painted a Peruvian flag on her bag as a symbol of her native country. 

“I'm still figuring out a life in the States, but I'm happy to have met people that are very welcoming, and I feel like Chapman has a very vibrant and diverse community that is very welcoming as well,” said Pacheco. 

The event brought together students and groups representing different cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. 

Toks Opeifa is a senior writing for film and television major who attended the event. Opeifa is president of the Black Global Diaspora Alliance and vice president of the Black Student Union — two clubs the hermanos invited to attend the event. 

“I think it's very beautiful, all of us coming together, even though we're not all from the same places. We have this shared connection, shared experiences being in America, and just experiencing life, especially on campus as well,” said Opeifa, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria in the 1990s. “There's a lot of stuff that we might not be able to relate on, but there's a lot of stuff we can relate on at the same time.”

According to Lopez Garcia, community gathering can help lower the barriers impacting students of color, students of a lower socioeconomic class, LGBTQ+ students, transfer students and other groups that may face challenges. 

“The current political climate is steering clear from keeping students promoting diversity, which is flat out impossible because multiculturalism is what keeps a society thriving,” said Lopez Garcia.

In the future, Lopez Garcia hopes to see Chapman become a Hispanic Serving Institution and to be more welcoming to the community. He would also like to see more multicultural Greek organizations on campus, such as the Divine 9, composed of historically Black fraternities and sororities. 

“Their culture and form of mobilizing the masses through community service and academic excellency while simultaneously being proud of their heritage is what I hope to achieve both at and outside of Chapman,” said Lopez Garcia. 

Landen Barnett, a first-year psychology major who is a member of the Black Student Union, thinks these kinds of collaborations between different groups is needed, especially at Chapman. 

“Us minorities gotta stick together, especially in this more white environment,” Barnett said. 

And for Barnett, whose father immigrated from the Bahamas, it means a lot to see other people who have immigrant parents. 

“It does kind of speak to my soul a little bit, and it's good to know that I'm not totally alone,” Barnett said. 

The feeling of not being alone: for many attendees, that’s what the “Shared Roots” event was all about. A family gathering, focused on building community and fostering human connection. 

“I think it's important for all of us to know that we have one another, and when we're walking on campus, for us to see someone that we saw at one of these events and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, it's that person,’” Opeifa said. “You just feel a heartwarming feeling because you have, maybe not your blood family, but a found family.”