Comedian Francisco Ramos brought a hilarious stand-up routine to WCU as a part of the Southeastern Latinx Student Leadership Conference.
Francisco Ramos on stage at the UC. Photo taken by Tyler Davis.
A crowd of around 150 people gathered in front of the stage at A.K. Hinds University Center to hear Ramos Ramos regaled the crowd with jokes and comedic stories from his own life, talking about topics like family and the Latin-American experience. The audience even got to participate. Ramos interacted with attendees, telling jokes all along the way.
Ramos is known for his work in Showtime’s Shameless, Netflix’s Lady Dynamite and Angie Tribeca from Steve Carell. He recently shot an HBO standup special titled Entre Nos that aired summer of 2018.
One attendee shared his enjoyment of Ramos’ comedic stylings. “I have a Spanish background, so I got to just really feel his background as well,” WCU junior Michael Pilotos said. “It was just a kind of cool experience.”
SL-SLC was organized by students in the Latino Appreciation Student Organization and is the first conference of its kind in the US’ southeastern region. Its purpose is to promote the strengthening of the Latinx community through concurrent workshops and presentations in three tracks. It began Friday, March 12, and continues through Sunday, March 14.
Ricardo Nazario y Colòn, advisor to the LASO, spoke over email about how these kinds of events can help foster diversity at WCU. “Comedy shows, dancing events, and gathering around food are examples of points of entry events for cultural exchange, understanting and engagement,” Nazario y Colón said. “According to student engagement theory these events are comprised of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that embody and further develop motivation for learning.”
Nazario y Colón also talked about how NC Promise will affect diversity at WCU. “NC Promise is a great opportunity for all North Carolinians and it will certainly enhance our student diversity experience. Making college more affordable impacts students from families with less than enough means, first generation students, and students for whom food insecurity is a real daily experience.”
“Only time will tell how students and their families will view the opportunity afforded by NC Promise,” Nazario y Colón said.
