Written by: Rikysha Williams

Party Puerto Rican style!

The Latin American Student Association (LASA) will hold their annual Carnaval event on Friday from 5-9 p.m. on the front lawn.

This year, LASA is celebrating Puerto Rico with a “Wet ‘n Wild” theme that features fun water-based games and traditional Carnaval activities.

There will be a plenty of food (including unlimited chips and salsa), music performances and the playing of Latin American music throughout the entire evening. There will also be opportunities to win prizes by participating in games or competing in a dance contest. At the end of the evening, LASA will crown the Carnaval King and Queen.

To mark the beginning of Lent, Latin American and Caribbean countries host Carnavals, which is a celebration similar to Mardi Gras. LASA uses these celebrations as a guide for their annual event.

Each year the event focuses on one specific country to show VSU students how unique each country is.

“(It is) LASA’s duty to spread knowledge about Hispanic traditions and culture to the VSU student body and faculty while making it enjoyable and educational at the same time,” Nateya Hamilton, event coordinator, said.

Other organizations will also participate in the event.

“Carnaval will be amazing this year,” Hamilton said. “We hope that everybody comes out to learn more about Puerto Rican Carnaval and, most importantly, have fun immersing (themselves) in Latin American culture!”