Hamden Dances Into Inaugural Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

Top: Battle (in yellow), Bivens (in a dress on the right), and the Youth Service Ambassadors. Bottom:  Youth Services Ambassador Ari Pires (right) doing the tango with another Youth Services Ambassador. Samir Iydroose Photos.

Salsera Alisa Bowens-Mercado beckoned to attendees who had filled Thornton Wilder Hall, many still seated at folding tables covered in alternating green, red, and yellow cellophane. On cue, they rose from their cleared blue plastic plates, once filled with empanadas and beans, to the makeshift dance floor. Bowens-Mercado smiled.

“Let’s go dance,” she said. And with just three words, attendees had their marching orders.

Tango, bachata, cumbia, salsa, and merengue filled the Hamden Public Library last Thursday night, as the town of Hamden kicked off its inaugural celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The event, hosted in conjunction with the Hamden High School (HHS) Spanish Club, featured dance lessons from Bowens-Mercado, founder of the New Haven based dance–studio Alisa’s House of Salsa, catered food from Mexican, Puerto Rican and and Colombian restaurants, face painting, and musical performances from HHS students.

The performance lineup consisted of seven songs, some bilingual and some monolingual, and one short speech delivered in Spanish. Organizers included Hamden Director of Cultural Affairs and Human Services Karen Bivens and HHS Spanish teacher Joanne Maldonado. Maldonado is also the faculty advisor for the school’s Spanish Club.

The celebration has been in the works for the past three months, Biven said. She added that it was important to her to involve “community partners” in the event, including the high school students from many different backgrounds who call the town home.

HHS junior Heather Lajara-Brea who performed "La Llorona,"with one other selection, and sophomore Violette Tayupanda Hidalgo, who performed "Vámonos a Marte" by Kevin Kaarl, among other pieces.

“Hamden is very diverse,” Bivens said, noting that the town has held celebrations for Kwanzaa, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) month, and Three Kings Day. “I want people to be able to see themselves represented here.”

Food came from the Puerto-Rican restaurant Grab & Go Empanadas, Dixwell Avenue’s beloved Mazorca Mexican Cuisine, and Delicias El Paisa, a Colombian restaurant also on Dixwell Avenue. Bivens said this selection was meant to represent Hispanic culture as it is “not just one big culture, but many,” and give “exposure” to local businesses.

The decision to host a community salsa class during the celebration felt natural, highlighting the connective power of music. Bowens-Mercado, who hails from Bethany and teaches in New Haven’s Westville neighborhood, felt like the perfect fit. As a teching artist who is often in school settings, she brought both her educational hat and her dancing shoes.

As the night went on, members of the Hamden Youth Service Ambassadors stood at the ready, helping set-up and serve food.The initiative focuses on skills such as financial literacy and work readiness, according to the Town of Hamden’s website. Seven of about 15 total ambassadors were in attendance at the event, according to Lamond Battle, youth services coordinator

He said that the goal of the program is to “explore possible careers and develop skills while being employed,” and described it as a “work-and-learn-style program.” He added that the ambassadors’ involvement in this event provided an opportunity to talk about food service.

“We helped them get basic skills about hygiene and cleanliness down,” Battle said. “Not to reach over food, and not to talk over food, and other stuff to have less germs.”

Ari Pires, 16, who has been a member of the Youth Services Ambassadors since last winter, said she really enjoyed the event and seeing the community. Pires was responsible for serving pastel de guava and cheese bread, and said she is now considering pursuing hospitality as a career.

Bowens-Mercado described attendees as“very engaged.” Community outreach has been a longstanding part of her dance career: she hosts free summer dance classes in New Haven’s Westville neighborhood, and takes part in Hispanic heritage celebrations across New Haven and Hamden. Particularly as the studio celebrated its 25th anniversary last September, Bowens-Mercado is committed to spreading the magic and history of Latin dance.

“Tonight tango was my favorite to teach,” she said. “There are lots of fun moves that go with the tango, and [the moves] correspond to spelling out T-A-N-G-O, and the people are eager to connect. You can see the tango on the TV on Dancing With the Stars up there but you can't see yourself doing it, but it is easier than you think.”

“It is like people are teleported to an island when the music comes on,” she continued. “I love it so much: the rhythm, passion, and movement. It brings people from all backgrounds together, and they can learn about history and culture.”

Samir Iydroose is a graduate of the 2026 Youth Arts Journalism Initiative and a junior at Hamden High School.