On Saturday Feb. 11 in the College Union Ballroom, Geneseo students and community members enjoyed a taste of Latino culture and cuisine at the Latino Student Association's Sabor Latino: Quince Wars dinner.
The night shared the Latin American tradition of the quinceañera, the celebration of a girl's 15th birthday as her entrance into womanhood. The ballroom, decorated to imitate a quinceañera party, was adorned with bright red and white decorations accompanied by Latin American music.
Once guests settled in, the evening began with a traditional dinner. Among the choices on "Angela's Quinceñera Menu" were plántanos rellenos con queso (cheese stuffed plantains), carne de cerdo tirada con salsa roja (pulled pork with red sauce), arroz amarillo con frijoles rojos (yellow rice with red beans) and flan paired with French vanilla ice cream for dessert.
After the guests filled their second and third platefuls of Latin cuisine, the Quince Wars show began. Created as a spin-off of the popular movie "Bride Wars," Quince Wars brought a comedic and meaningful storyline together with the tradition of a quinceañera.
The show's story centered on two best friends, Angela and Sophia, played by freshmen Liesel Gutierrez and Daniell Martinez, who happened to share the same birthday. As the girls' 15th birthdays approached and they began planning their quinceañeras, Angela and Sophia got into an argument over which of them would have the privilege of throwing her quinceañera party on their shared birth date.
The friends quickly turned into enemies and an onslaught of hilarious pranks ensued, both girls hoping to sabotage the quince of her ex-best friend. Some highlights of the prank war included Sophia's hiring of a terrible dance teacher to choreograph Angela's quinceañera performance and Angela tricking a hairdresser into dyeing Sophia's hair pink.
When the girls' birthday finally arrived, Sophia's final prank, an embarrassing video of Angela singing and dancing, was shown to the guests at her quince. After a brief chase scene and fight between the two girls, they apologized to each other and decided to have their quinces together. The show ended with some energetic dance numbers by the cast.
"It was a great experience. You get a taste of Hispanic culture," said freshman Kevin Alvarez, member of LSA. "The food is excellent too; it reminds me of my mom's cooking." Alvarez played Angela's quince escort Carlos in the show.
Freshman Khloe Sigler, who attended the show to support friends and explore Latino culture, noted, "The actors were very interactive with the audience and each other."
The event was sponsored by Campus Auxiliary Services, Student Association Tech and the Alliance for Community Enrichment.