A diverse crowd of more than 100 gathered at Cole Hall Friday night to enjoy the comedy of Joey Medina.

The comedy jam was the main event of Latino Heritage Awareness Month, which is celebrated annually on campus from Sept. 15 to Oct 15.

During the celebration, NIU organizations provide events that demonstrate the importance of Latino culture on campus.

“It is critical that we continue to have Latino organizations remain involved in the campus community,” said event organizer Jesse Perez, who is also the student trustee on NIU’s Board of Trustees.

The main sponsor of the event, the Association for Latino Movement and Accreditations (ALMA), also received further support from other Latino organizations, such as University Resources for Latinos (URL) and the Latino fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta. CAB also assisted in supporting the comedy jam.

The show’s audience did not consist of just NIU students. People came to DeKalb to join in the spirit of Latino Heritage Awareness Month.

“I thought the show was great,” Chicago resident Jennifer Garcia said. “It was pretty funny.”

The 90-minute show was a free event allowing all cultures to be entertained by a Latino star on the comic circuit. Medina appreciated the opportunity to get involved in NIU’s celebration of Latino heritage.

“As an artist, we are usually stuck with the business side of entertainment,” Medina said. “It’s times like this when I can be active in supporting the Latino community.”

Latino Heritage Awareness Month events will continue this week with the interactive play “Help Wanted,” performed by Teatro Latino de Minnesota. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom. The performance is free and open to all.

For information, call URL director Sylvia Fuentes at 753-1987.