SALSA had its biggest and most productive event to date. The Mexican Loteria was a huge success. T-shirts sold and the fajitas totally sold out. Everyone enjoyed the music provided throughout the entire day by DJ Rain. Ramiro Carrillo won the 50-50 raffle and took home $825.
The homemade hot sauce contest drew 17 entries. The panel of four judges chose Gina Suarez as the 1st place winner. Robert Lake won 2nd. Greg Woodcox tied for 3rd with Lake’s second entry. Lake had four totally different entries and others had two. The hot sauce flavors included chile verde, habanero and regular.
The biggest winners of all were the 15 students that were awarded scholarships. Eleven of the 15 recipients were able to receive their scholarships in person. Four had school-related activities and were unable to attend.
Students attending Howard Payne University include Damian Sanchez, Graciela Sanchez, and Magaly Cervantes. Natalie Vega will attend Ranger College. Noeli de la Torre, Roan Aguinaga and Heaven Padilla will be attending Angelo State University. Attending Tarleton State University will be Buenaventura Castaneda, Keygan Pitts and Weston Jundt. Rylie Guerrero and Eli Goodrich will attend Texas A&M. Kali Alvizo will attend the University of Texas, and Trinity Sessomes will attend Hampton University. Michael Morales is considering the University of Chicago and Notre Dame.
SALSA president Raul Martinez said, “We were very pleased with the turnout and want to congratulate all the winners, especially our scholarship recipients. We are very grateful to our sponsors, donors, the Arts Council, the City of Brownwood, and all the people that came out to support SALSA.”