As I walked into B117, I was greeted by grinning faces, Latin music, delicious treats and of course, striking sombreros. Where am I? Take a guess.

At the Salsa Club’s meeting last Thursday, the members held a huge celebration for the holiday Three Kings Day. The Spanish and Latino Student Association Club, advised by Senor Vidal, meets every third Thursday of each month to talk about and celebrate the values of Spanish culture.

The festivities started off with Spanish exchange student Jorge Lopez Palacios and North Penn Senior Remi Bulanhagui, who previously studied abroad in Spain, speaking to the group about the history and traditions of Three Kings Day.

This celebration takes place all over Spain, Mexico, and Latin America on January 6^th. Those who celebrate the holiday still believe in the tradition 12 days of Christmas, but instead of 12 days leading up to Christmas, the 12 days start after Christmas. This is how they come to celebrate on January 6^th. This holiday represents the height of the Christmas season and commemorates the three wise men who traveled from afar, bearing gifts for the infant baby Jesus. The children of Mexico in particular look forward to this holiday as traditionally, gifts are exchanged on this date, instead of Christmas day.

One of the most popular traditions of the holiday is finding a small figurine of baby Jesus in one of the desserts known as ‘Rosca de Reyes’ or King’s Cake. This holiday dessert adds much in the way of symbolism. Shaped in a circle to signify a king’s crown, this sweet bread holds the baby Jesus, and whoever finds this token is obligated to host an upcoming party for the occasion of ‘Dia de la Candelaria’, Candlemas Day, which occurs each year on February 2nd.

The members of the Salsa Club had their own King’s Cake as well. The winner who found the baby Jesus won a bag of candy and a Panera gift card.

The desserts also included homemade cupcakes, chips and drinks. Overall, the celebration was a success and everyone in attendance enjoyed their time. Adding to the party atmosphere, popular Latin music was played and some were happily dancing, wearing bright sombreros.

The club is open to all, even those who don’t take Spanish as a class; so come on out and celebrate the history of Spanish culture with the Salsa Club!