Applause, catcalls and cheers of "you're beautiful!" and "precioso!" resounded as Mayda del Valle took the stage Monday, but the noise was almost instantly silenced as the spoken-word artist began her first poem.
Del Valle opened her performance at the opening ceremony of Hispanic Heritage Month with a fast-paced, passionate poem called "Descendancy," which - like many of her poems - addressed the frustrations she felt toward stereotypes about her heritage.
Her show was the featured act at the ceremony, which brought about 150 people to the Reitz Union Rion Ballroom.
The ceremony, which was co-sponsored by UF's Multicultural and Diversity Affairs, began with a video presentation about famous historical Hispanic figures, which included Salvador Dali and Cesar Chavez.
Maryam Laguna, executive director of Hispanic Heritage Month, spoke of the importance of being educated about the history of Hispanic ancestors.
"Nothing is greater than being a Latin Gator," Laguna said.
Patricia Telles-Irvin, UF vice president of Student Affairs, said Hispanic Heritage Month should be celebrated because of the culture's language, customs, art and music.
"We must celebrate and remember our heritage and its very positive impact on our society," Telles-Irvin told the crowd.
As del Valle performed about six of her pieces, she received continuous applause from the audience.
She read a love poem that she said was for women who have been victims of bad pick-up lines. She also performed a spoken-word piece titled "Tongue Tactics," which was written in response to someone telling her the way she spoke Spanish sounded uneducated, improper and lazy.
Hispanic Heritage Month started Monday and will last until Oct. 20.
Other events taking place include a talent show Sept. 23, a concert featuring Pitbull and DLG on Sept. 26, a comedy night Oct. 1, a pageant Oct. 3 and a soccer tournament Oct. 12.
The month's closing ceremony will be Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
