Hispanic Heritage Month actually begins in the middle of a month: September 15th, the anniversary of the independence of five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) that all declared independence in 1821.

Bronx Community College kicked off the festivities with one of Latin America’s great cultural contributions to the world: a salsa band. The musicians set up in front of North Hall and Library, quickly attracting an audience of passersby who passed by no more once the music began.

Featured on rhythm was the legendary salsero Nicky Marrero, who attended BCC in the 60s and will be returning as a percussion teacher.

“This music is rooted in Africa, so the beats are thousands of years old,” explained Ms. Aurora Flores, who helped organize the concert and lent her voice to it as well. “In Puerto Rico alone, we’re talking 500 years of music. That’s where the music of the European and the enslaved African came together. Then it came to New York and found a spotlight.”

The result was a sound so compelling that some of those who heard it ringing across the BCC Quad were inspired to dance under the perfect rays of a late summer sun.