Dynamic DJ in the house

RadioUTD celebrated its 20th anniversary with its second annual live DJ Fest on March 9. DJs immersed the audience in their diverse musical tastes ranging from ambient Intellectual Dance Music to smooth ‘90s old school rap to upbeat Latin dance music. DJ Arch Nolan, cognitive science sophomore (they/them), played upbeat alternative metal-core rock.

“I usually play jazz on my [radio] show, but I went for something different tonight,” Nolan said. “It was so cool to hear the songs that I know loudly played. Being able to see people’s reaction – people grooving and getting with it was awesome –you can’t do that in the radio station.”

DJ Marco Frescas, computer science junior (he/him), played “euphoric” dance music.

“I like playing music where the beat and the sound is happy but the vocals are a little bit depressing… I’m not the best at conversation, I’m very awkward and I found music to be better at expressing my feelings. These harmonies convey emotions that I never could. I love DJing – been doing it since high school – and I’ll remember this night and how the crowd went while for a long time to come.”

The Hispanx/Latinx Film Festival debuted on March 22 outside the Jonsson Performance Hall, where professors from the school of Arts, Technology and Humanities addressed social and geopolitical issues impacting the Latinx community.

While students might have arrived at the event for live music by the Bass Junkies, tacos from the Taco Taxi and mezcal concoctions by Zunte Spirits, the event also brought awareness to the crises of immigration, sexuality and abortion for an underrepresented community. This event came after the proposal for Senate Bill 602, which gives border control increased power to arrest any suspected criminals. Just a week before, a mass illegal entry in the El Paso Border was met with US officials in riot gear.

“It’s important to understand the reasons behind [why] people do the things so you can form a more informed opinion,” Angela Mooney, first-year assistant professor of Spanish, said. “[The film festival] just creates the perspective; it gives a chance so students can see maybe a side that is not always shown on media or maybe a perspective they don’t get to meet.”

The event was brought to life through a love for film by Mooney as well as Toni MuñozHunt — interim director of the Center for US-Latin America Initiatives, or CUSLAI — and Pragda Latin Cinema. Attendees watched five movies chosen by student votes over the course of three days.

“I believe that knowledge and cultural exchange are essential in building strong and lasting relationships,” Mooney said. “We have to

After the festivities ended, students were welcomed into Jonsson Hall to watch an award-winning 2021 film from the Dominican Republic, “Elena,” and the award-winning 2019 Brazilian film “Alice Junior.”

The short film “Elena” exposes the racist tensions against Haitians in the Dominican Republic as a young activist and her family face countless hardships after being stripped of their citizenship. It is a hostile, bureaucratic documentary that uses every minute to depict the uncertainty felt by nearly 200,000 souls fighting against educational and executive barriers.

Meanwhile, “Alice Junior” brought the perspective of a young transgender Latinx millennial faced with their sexuality in the face of conservative Catholic communities in Brazil. A coming-of-age comedy, it manages to address concerns still relevant today under the veil of awkward teenage romance and surprising laughs.

While the in-person festivities began March 22, virtual screening for three other awardwinning international films started two days before thanks to the Spanish Film Club. Each of the films are exceptional stories that recognize regional conflicts as universal challenges still relevant today.

“Nudo Mixteco,” a 2021 Mexican film, unveils the plight of indigenous women and their sexuality in a drama accompanied by striking monologues based on true stories. It addresses the communities of Oaxaca with a feminist view on topics including abuse, infidelity and been on the UTD

Are superhero movies going the way of the Western?

ANDRÉ AVERION Mercury Staff

The golden age of the superhero genre is showing signs of expiring in a similar fashion to the Western genre that came before it, thanks to audience fatigue and recent flops in quality.

The Western genres provided escapism through a series of classics that dominated in a golden age between the 1940s and 1960s. However, despite revivals with Spaghetti Westerns in the 1970s, the genre largely died alongside the Hays Code — a set of rules that forbade taboo topics in movies — as directors investigated more experimental ideas like sci-fi and horror films. Westerns couldn’t compete with greater spectacles and the several flops that brought the genre down. They became formulaic and predictable so naturally, tired audiences weren’t as excited seeing a cowboy

SEE SUPERHERO, PAGE 11