Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos hosts Noche de Gala

Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos hosted its Noche de Gala on Saturday night.

The event returned to the Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel and Conference Center for the first time in two years following a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Saturday provided an evening of dining, dancing, remembering, honoring and celebrating life.

“Our culture does not do well with a virtual gala,” said Dr. Rosina Valle, a founding Centro member. “We love the besos and abrazos and the musica.”

Centro honored three with awards: John Lopez, Dr. Israel Najera and Dr. Mario Garza and Mario Rocha.

Lopez — a professor of music at Texas State University who established a youth mariachi program, which eventually moved to Centro — was the cultural honoree.

Above, John Lopez is presented an award by Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos Board President Amanada Rodriguez during Saturday's Noche de Gala event. 

Najera was honored for his work in education and mental health.

Above, Dr. Israel Najera is presented an award by Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos Board President Amanada Rodriguez during Saturday's Noche de Gala event. 

Garza and Rocha received the honors for their work to preserve indigenous culture.

Above, Dr. Mario Garza and Maria Rocha are presented an award by Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos Board President Amanda Rodriguez during Saturday's Noche de Gala event. 

Dr. Jose Luis Zelaya, 35, was the gala’s special guest speaker. Zelaya was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras which he was obligated to flee at the age of 13 and journeyed to the United States as an unaccompanied minor. Zelaya fled Honduras after living on the streets as a child in poverty.

Zelaya said it was an honor to speak at Centro’s Noche de Gala event.

“I think that for someone who’s not in the community to be able to be here, to be able to see the history, and not only the history but our story can also be empowering in the classes and into the community, to me it’s a very humble opportunity,” Zeyala told the crowd Saturday. “To be able to celebrate with you. To be able to find that unity in community … We are not a sleeping giant, we are a very powerful community because of our roots, because of our backgrounds, because of the people that started [Centro], these are the people that have left a legacy.”

Zelaya spoke about how the generational power of higher education impacted his life. He thanked Centro for the work that it does to provide educational opportunities in the community. Zelaya also said Centro exists to honor cultural backgrounds.

“It’s keeping our legacy,” Zelaya said. “It’s about utilizing our language, as research says, as the catalyst to be able to develop the new language. Because if you think about the science of language. If you were to think about English and Spanish, they are both connected at the Latin root to the point that science says 30 or 45% of English [words] are nearly similar to Spanish. And, that is basic science. When we begin to embrace culture even if it is different, we are embracing who we are because we’re connected at the root. We are connected at the root of our community.”

Saturday’s gala also featured performances by Texas State University’s Grupo Folklorico Ocotochtli. The night wrapped up with a musical performance by Del Castillo — a well-known band from Austin praised for their blend of rock, Latin, blues and World music

Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos is located at 211 Lee St. Centro’s mission is to serve the community as a beacon for the preservation, development, promotion, and celebration of the Hispanic arts, culture, heritage, and values.m