Heather Linnenkohl/The Falcon There was an abundance of food and students during Sunday’s celebration of Cinco de Mayo in Martin Square.

Tropical music resounded in Martin Square, while the smells of carne asada and chicken sizzled off the grill and lines of students received rice, beans, pico de gallo and traditional salsa. Balloons and streamers decorated the square, with posters of Latino countries on the walls.

On Sunday, May 4, Spanish and Latino Student Awareness (S.A.L.S.A.) put on the fourth annual Cinco de Mayo celebration in Martin Square from 5-7 p.m. About 400 students came and went from the celebration, which is about the same number of people as last year, said senior Dalillah Bernad, one of the founders of S.A.L.S.A. She said that every year more people get informed about the event, and hopefully one day it will encompass the entire campus.

"We're trying to bring the Latin community onto the SPU campus," Bernad said.

Bernad said that showing diversity in cultures is really important, and S.A.L.S.A. is a little way in which that can be possible.

In Martin Square, Bernad spoke about what Cinco de Mayo really is. Many people think that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican independence day, but it is actually not, Bernad said. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the day in 1862 when 4,000 Mexican soldiers beat the French who were trying to invade. American Union soldiers helped the Mexicans win the war, and in return, Mexico helped the Union to its victory, Bernad said.

"The purpose of this event is to bring awareness of the Latino culture as well as Mexican," Bernad said.

They bring awareness for both by incorporating information about all of the Latino countries, which they had up around Martin Square, Bernad said. The posters had maps of the countries from Central and South America that included statistics and pictures. Poetry by famous Latin American poets, such as Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Octavio Paz, also decorated the walls alongside the posters.

At the end of the celebration, a green pinata was brought out, and the children of the band members whacked at it with a broom. Candy proceeded to fall to the ground, and the children dove, while the SPU students that were left walked to pick up some candy.

Bernad said that after each celebration is done, they start planning for the next year, going over what worked and what did not. This year, instead of the traditional mariachi band, S.A.L.S.A. employed Coffee Band. Coffee Band is tropical music, a mix of many varieties from the Latin American countries. She said that S.A.L.S.A. wanted to show a different kind of music, one that was more Latino instead of Mexican.

Sophomore Carly Holtzinger said that she could hear the band all the way from Ashton Hall, so she came down.

"The music sounded intriguing and exciting," Holtzinger said.

Sophomore Kate Barak said that she came to the celebration this year because it was fun last year as a social event.

"I hope that people genuinely appreciate everything S.A.L.S.A. is doing on campus," Barak said.

Sophomore Andrew Brauer came for the food because, he said, "the carne asada is so epic." Brauer came last year and said that because of the effort that S.A.L.S.A. has put into the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, he has a whole new appreciation for Mexican and Latino cultures.

Bernad said that her family prepared some of the food that was served, and she was really appreciative of all the time and effort that people put into the celebration. She also had a connection with the restaurant Guerreros, who provided the rest of the food. Some of the food ran out before the event was over, but the meat lasted until the end.

Sophomore Summer Weisshaupt also said that the food is really good. Weisshaupt said it was nice to get a taste of Mexican culture because it is not often seen in Seattle.

"Yeah, it is an awesome party, but it is about being together too," junior Skylar Gringrich, a S.A.L.S.A. member, said.

"I hope that people realized that it is about being a community," Bernad said, "not just one country or another."