Ivonne Badillo dances to the samba beats provided by Samba Batucada Alma de Fogo.
On Sept. 6, UTEP students, faculty, staff and El Paso residents attended the newly relocated event, Minerpalooza. The event usually takes place in the center of campus but was relocated to the P-9 parking lot due to construction.
The area, which stretched from Randolph Street to Sun Bowl Drive, offered a variety of food and games for attendees to enjoy, including live music and fire breathing performances. Before the event Corey Bailey, Director of the Student Leadership and Engagement Center, helped plan the event and stressed that there would be entertainment from one side of the area to the other.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, I want you to be stimulated and I think we’ve done that.” Bailey said.
The pep rally included the UTEP cheerleaders, the Golddiggers dance team, the marching band and three speeches from UTEP President Diana Natalicio, Athletic Director Bob Stull and the football head coach Sean Kugler.
“I am very proud of this team, I can’t wait to watch this team go out and work,” Kugler said. “I am asking this crowd when we’re on offense to be as quiet as you can and when we’re on defense, and I want to see the rowdiest crowd in the country tomorrow night.”
The entertainment kicked off shortly after the pep rally with music and games that the different booths offered. Part of the entertainment was provided by the group Samba Batucada Alma de Fogo (Samba Batucada Soul of Fire). The percussive music group, which aspires to bring the sounds of samba to West Texas and Southern New Mexico, featured Ivonne Badillo, a dancer of nine years and many styles, including samba.
“I usually dance in groups, I don’t dance by myself,” Badillo said. “This is the first time I do and I like the attention and I love the music while I am dancing.”
Some students explained their satisfaction with the event, whether it was the entertainment that improved from previous years or the large space between booths and centers of entertainment.
“The performance was closed in, which made everyone come in closer,” Noemi Falcon said, senior electrical engineering major. “In the past, the performance would be in the middle, but most people would go to the food.”
Patricia Luna, senior organizational communication major, felt that this year’s performance was not as well done as last year, but the location fit well.
“The pep rally felt very short because there wasn’t as much spirit and cheer as last year,” Luna said. “It’s cool here because it’s spread out, and in inner campus you have to walk down the streets.”
Aaron Montes may be reached at [email protected].
