Passion Latino competed at the Baila4Life Latin Dance Competition, an annual event that brings students together from high schools all over Montgomery County. Dancers compete in various dance styles, including Salsa, Cha Cha, Merengue, Bachata, Jack and Jill, Parent with Students and best in group. Passion Latino put a lot of time and effort into practicing for the competition and getting into the best shape they could.
“During competition time, we did have to extend our practices and add in extra days, so we had, at minimum three days per week, and we would change the schedule depending on how much time we needed, but usually it’s two days per week,” team manager, junior Daniela Carreno Perez said.
Passion Latino was created in 2023 by senior captain Tatiana Cabrera and former WJ students Destiny Andino-Montano, Elizabeth Hernandez-Cabana, Luis Siancas, Ruben Villagra and Sky Abreu Delancer. It was formed after seeing Baila4Life dance videos on Instagram and getting inspiration. After securing sponsors and forming a club, the group brought Latin culture to Walter Johnson and allows students to express their Latin culture through dance.
“I would explain it as a creative way to express your Latin culture or your culture itself,” Cabrera said. “You don’t have to just be Hispanic. You can be any race. It’s available for anybody. I would just say it’s a fun experience to learn more dances, to meet new people and to compete together as a team, to win trophies.”
On Feb. 21, after a long day of competition, Passion Latino brought home six of the seven awards in Salsa, Cha Cha, Merengue, Bachata, Jack and Jill and best in group. This accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the time and effort the team put into their performances and the support they had for each other throughout it all.
“We’re all really all there for each other,” team member, freshman Leslie Guardado González said. “We’re like one big, happy family. We always try to laugh with each other, even through all of our problems, and even at times where we do tend to struggle, we always find a way to pick each other back up. We just educate each other on how we feel on open communication and also just how to be better dancers.”
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Team manager, senior Nathan Menéndez and freshman Leslie Guarado Gonzales dance together in the cha cha category. This performance won the team first place.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Team manager, junior Daniela Carreno Pérez and freshman Santiago Arias dance during their salsa performance. Carreño Pérez and Arias won first place in this category.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Principal Nicole Morgan introduces Passion Latino before their group performance. Team members appreciated support from administration.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Passion Latino celebrates together after winning multiple first-place awards in cha-cha, merengue, bachata, salsa, Jack and Jill and best in group. “Bringing all six first-place trophies was not in our books. We were all really shocked, but I feel like we would at least place in each category. Bringing the first was just really shocking for us,” captain, senior Tatianna Cabrera said.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Team manager, senior Nathan Menéndez and sophomore Rita Gutierrez Merino compete in the Bachata solo. This performance got them the first-place title in this category. “I just felt really grateful and I just was really proud of myself and especially my team, including my partners,” Menéndez said.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Freshman Leslie Guarado Gonzales cries tears of joy in the arms of her teammate after winning first place for her cha cha dance. “Genuinely, I had faith. I didn’t know I was going to win an award, but when we did, it was just such a surreal moment, and a lot of tears were shed from everyone for how hard we really did work,” Guarado Gonzales said
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Team manager, junior Daniela Carreno Perez, celebrates with a trophy in her hand after winning the Jack and Jill performance. The Jack and Jill portion of the competition is where dancers sign up individually and are paired with a random dance partner from another school to perform to music they have not prepared for until they are the last ones standing. “I was really shocked after I won because I had never done it before. It was a different experience for me, so winning that definitely surprised me,” Carreno Perez said.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Captain, senior Tatiana Cabrera and junior Jennifer Alvarez compete in the merengue solo portion of the competition, which they won first place in. This was Cabrera’s last performance since the team was created. “ I was one of the first original members, so it was a little bit hard. It’s hard for me to try to let go of it moving forward. I definitely do plan to come back as an alumnus to help the team,” Cabrera said.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Sophomore Carlos Villavicencio dances with his mom during the student and parent segment of the competition. “That was my first time walking up on stage. It’s my first time on the team. So it was just an amazing experience, especially to be able to break that fear with my mother. It was something I can’t replicate. It’s a feeling I won’t be able to replicate,” Villavicencio said.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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The Passion Latino team performs together in their group dance. The team worked hard for many hours to be ready for the competition. Their hard work resulted in them winning first place for their best in group performance. “We prepared since around winter break. A little before winter break, we started, and we just kept on practicing for long hours every single week,” junior Daniela Carreno Pérez said.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
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Passion Latino celebrates an incredible achievement of winning multiple first-place awards together as a team. The team had similar success last year as well.
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez
