As a part of his arts leadership master’s program in the Thornton School of Music, Thornton graduate student Mark Clady created Latin Nights to build cultural connections through art. 

Latin Nights — which often feature salsa, bachata and reggaeton rhythms — are held every Friday at 9:30 p.m. at The 901 Bar & Grill, which is less than half a mile away from the northeast corner of University Park Campus.  

“My organization [Chase the Culture] right now is off-campus,” Clady said. “However, I am hoping to start a student organization that continues this event, along with other events I plan to do, but I want it to go on way past the time I graduate and just have it become a thing.”

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During Clady’s time as an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in community and nonprofit leadership, he often participated in Latin Nights.  

“A lot of us had a very tight-knit, small community in terms of being a minority, so these Latin Nights were some of the only places that gave us a sense of belonging,” Clady said. “It was interesting for me to realize that there was no real Latin Nights at any of the bars outside of USC. So, I thought that there was a need for it [here].”

The Latin Nights follow no itinerary and have no set timeline of events. Attendees are welcome to enjoy refreshments at the bar, chat with each other or dance to the music played by the DJ. 

“It is more of a social, get-together type of event,” Clady said. “We do try to encourage partner dancing, so we play a lot of salsa and bachata to try to get people to know each other. So it is not just individual dancing music, but it is partner stuff as well as trying to foster a sense of community. But as of right now, we are just in the starting phases of things.”

Clady approached Briana Connors, a senior majoring in sociology and the creative director of USC’s student Latine dance club, Break On 2: Latin Fusion, about a collaboration for the Latin Nights. Break On 2 has free, weekly Latin dance lessons as well as salsa and bachata nights. 

“It is our mission to really expose the beautiful dancing and more importantly, the beautiful culture, to people all around the L.A. area, especially USC students,” Connors said. “Whether they grew up with the culture, providing a safe space for them to connect with something that they’ve known their whole lives; or to educate people and expose people to a new culture.”

The music and setlist are pre-selected and agreed upon. Isaiah Martinez, the DJ, said the vibe of Latin Nights is different from most events he performs at. 

“It is definitely the people that make it [unique],” Martinez said. “For the people that I have met at the Latin Nights, nothing but great things about those people, it is a really good atmosphere. I really do try to have fun with the atmosphere that I am in.”

Clady said they play a variety of Latin music to get the crowd pumped up and in the mood to dance. Matthew Manns, Clady’s friend, attended one of the Latin Nights. 

“I had a good time,” Manns said. “[My favorite part was] the dancing. I wanted to dance, but I am not a huge dancer. Everybody was like, ‘If you want to dance, you can dance.’ We had a good crowd, very friendly, very good hospitality.”

Beyond the Latin Nights, Clady said he would want to create more organizations and events to encourage further cultural connections. 

“I am trying to create a hip-hop night,” Clady said. “It might not be much of a party vibe like [Latin Nights] is, but it is going to be more somewhere people can showcase their skills. We are starting off small, but with the traction we are gaining, I am pretty confident that we will be able to accomplish something.”