When Josiah Lee Johnson ’29 visited Bates as a high school student, he wasn’t sure what it would be like to leave New York City and attend a school that might be so different from his home. Here for Bates Beginnings, he attended the cultural showcase co-hosted by the Caribbean Student Association (CSA) and Raíces Unidas. While he might have been considering several colleges when the showcase began, it was a decisive event.  

“When the host pulled me onto the stage, the sudden shift from spectator to participant transformed my experience,” Johnson said. “Hearing that roar of the crowd wasn’t just a warm welcome, it was an instinctive confirmation that I wouldn’t have to marginalize my own identity to fit in. In that moment of collective energy, the abstract idea of ‘community’ became a tangible reality, and I knew I had found my place.”

Johnson chose Bates, and this year he found himself back on stage as a first-year student. He was one of more than 60 performers in the showcase which highlights and celebrates  — through performance — diverse cultures of the Caribbean and Latin American students at Bates. This year’s showcase on April 17 was entitled “Here to Stay: Rhythms that Raised Us,” which points to both the past and future cultural influence of Latine and Caribbean cultures in the United States and at Bates. In addition to traditional dances, there were also contemporary dances, singers, and performances from collaborating groups 2Beats, Bollywood Dance Team, and the Deansmen. Samba Viva, a Brazilian samba ensemble based in Boston, joined the performance. 

Andrea Alfonzo ’27 of Long Island City, N.Y., was deeply involved with this year’s production, both backstage and onstage. A biology major with a dance minor, Alfonzo worked alongside other members of CSA and Raíces Unidas to coordinate the evening of entertainment and community. 

“This showcase has always been incredibly impactful for our community because it gives us the opportunity to express a part of ourselves that we often don’t get to share in other spaces,” Alfonzo said.

Aaron Martinez ’26 of New York City (with family from Ecuador and Puerto Rico) was invited to participate in the showcase during his first year at Bates, as a model for one of the Carnival costumes. 

“That year somebody was organizing a dance and they didn’t really have that many people. I was like, ‘Okay, I can do it. I know how to move a little bit. Why not?’” 

Before he knew it, he found himself even more involved.

Martinez stepped up as a leader his sophomore year and helped bring a new generation of students to the organization and the showcase. He will graduate this semester with minors in dance and Latin American & Latinx Studies. (He also just completed his thesis for his economics major.)

For some students involved in this year’s showcase, there was a clear urgency to claim space and celebrate culture. 

“I felt a deep responsibility to contribute a role that is both personal and political,” Johnson said. “We currently live in a political climate where the rights of immigrants and people of color are under constant scrutiny and support systems are being dismantled. That being said, I wanted my performance to be a deliberate act of reclamation.” 

Acknowledging that everything is political, Martinez noted the celebratory elements of the cultural showcase. “It felt amazing to be able to share and spread the message in a way that didn’t feel super political,” Martinez said. “It felt like more of a celebration of our culture than a fight or a struggle. I think a lot of the times what’s highlighted is the struggle, but I think there’s a lot to say about the resistance being joy. Joy is resistance.”

Alfonzo expressed a similar sentiment, as she looked back at the success of the show that she helped bring together.   

“I feel like a big part of the showcase is bringing joy to each other and celebrating together. That’s my main takeaway,” Alfonzo said. “‘Here to stay’ is a way of saying that we belong, that we matter, that we deserve to be here and to stay and to celebrate and to keep showing our cultures and to be proud of them.”