Latinx Welcome celebrates the many ways Bruins find belonging

A line stretching across Wilson Plaza for a paleta bar pop-up was among new sights at this year's Latinx Welcome, held Oct. 8, as two vendors swiftly customized each attendee's popsicle with chamoy or sweetened condensed milk, chili powder, sprinkles, or all of the above.

Another notable difference: more Bruins sporting FIFA jerseys representing various Latin American countries, a nod to this summer's World Cup.

The familiar sights at the annual event were there too, from the smiling faces in the low afternoon sun and the joyful hugs of those reuniting after the summer break, to the smell of esquites bowls and flautas from Pinches Tacos wafting over the plaza on a warm autumn day.

This year's bienvenida (welcome), now in its fifth consecutive year, was hosted by the UCLA Latinx Success Center and featured cultural programming, a resource fair, remarks from student and administrative leadership, and refreshments. The large crowds of Bruins who attend come for all of that - and they stay for the dancing.

"I'm so happy. I've already danced to all my Spanish music," said Elva Neyoy, a parent volunteer who was one of the first on the dance floor, beckoned by tracks like "La Chona" and "La Boda" and the accompanying dances.

Neyoy's daughter graduated from UCLA in the spring, but the two returned to volunteer at the welcome event, like they did in 2024. Neyoy, in between bursts of directing students to the food queue, says she plans to keep coming back. "This celebration means a lot to me. We are here to welcome all and to show them how proud we are of our Hispanic culture."

Miguel Anaya was another familiar face. The UCLA alumnus and his family started Pinches Tacos, a beloved Los Angeles institution. You can usually find Anaya at the Westwood location, which has catered the UCLA Latinx Welcome event for several years. Returning to campus to serve food to a new generation of Bruins has special meaning for Anaya.

"Community for us is everything. Community is family. Family is community," he said, placing on a long table cups containing guacamole and crema, in which Pinches staff carefully planted two flautas. "It's a homecoming for us, and we love it."

This year's celebration embraced the theme "Community, culture and excellence," reflecting the values at the heart of UCLA's efforts to foster a welcoming and supportive environment for Latino students.

The Latinx Success Center, which opened in spring 2025 and hosted the annual welcome for the second consecutive year, has become a campus hub offering advising and educational services, leadership and mentorship programs, where students can connect with peers and find support as they navigate university life.

As the center's executive director, Arlene Cano Matute sees creating that sense of belonging as a way to recognize not only students' individual accomplishments, but also the families and communities that helped make them possible.

"Many of us were raised with the understanding that when one of us succeeds, the entire family celebrates," Cano Matute told the crowd. "When one door opens, we hold it open for others. That is the power of comunidad."

Adriana Galván, vice provost and dean of the UCLA College Division of Undergraduate Education, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the role that cultural identity and community play in helping students thrive academically.

"Spaces like the Latinx Success Center, which celebrate culture, identity and academic achievement, are essential for all of our students' success," Galván said. "They help us create community and find belonging."

The connections she described were on display at the expansive resource fair, where student organizations and campus departments introduced Bruins to opportunities to get involved and resources to support them along the way.

Staffing a particularly lively table was Daniela Santos Hernandez, a member of the Latina-based sorority Lambda Theta Alpha, who emphasized the importance of finding a place to call one's own within a university as large as UCLA.

"Finding your little corner of the school really is what community is to me," said Santos Hernandez. She and fellow member Samantha Peñaloza Cabrera wore the group's signature maroon shirts, matching the cluster of sorority sisters happily buzzing around their table.

The afternoon's speakers, which also included alumnus and Regent-designate Paco Retana, acknowledged that building and sustaining these communities requires continued effort, particularly amid challenges facing higher education.

Gabi Trujillo, UCLA's undergraduate student body internal vice president, spoke about the obstacles many Latino students have overcome to reach UCLA, from being the first in their families to pursue higher education to struggling with feelings of not belonging. She also raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of campus resources, including the Latinx Success Center, and encouraged students to advocate for the programs that serve them.

"To my students here, my message to you is that you belong," Trujillo said. "Never stop fighting for the future of generations of students that will come after you."

That sense of belonging can also emerge through opportunities to connect more deeply with one's cultural heritage.

Sashi Atkinson Osorio, co-director of Ritmo Vivo, UCLA's Latin dance team, was among the performers entertaining the crowd at Wilson Plaza. Growing up with much of her Latino family living overseas, she said she sometimes felt disconnected from her heritage, particularly because she didn't speak Spanish fluently.

Still in her red sequined costume after the performance, the second-year political science major said that finding the dance community at UCLA helped change that, giving her a stronger sense of cultural identity and the confidence to embrace it.

"I never really thought that was something that would happen for me, or that I was Latina enough to do," Atkinson Osorio said of becoming the team's co-director. "Finding this community at UCLA has just been really special."