Hips will be in motion at the Latin-flavored semiformal dance to be held Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Glass Pavilion on the Homewood campus.

The event, dubbed La Noche de los Muertos (Night of the Dead), is the big finale to Hispanic Heritage Month sponsored by OLE, the university's student organization that caters to, but is not exclusive to, Latin American and Hispanic cultures. La Noche de los Muertos is a spin-off of El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican tradition.

The dance will run from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will feature the live Latin sounds of Mambo Combo, a DJ and all-you-can-eat Latin American cuisine. Tickets, which can be purchased by contacting ole@jhu.edu, are $7 in advance and $8 at the door.

For those who have trouble keeping in step with songs such as "Living la Vida Loca," Latin dance lessons will be offered from 7 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 27 in Homewood's AMR1 Multipurpose Room.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Oct. 1 with a kick-off event at the Glass Pavilion, has included such activities as a pinata party, a Latin music luncheon and a lecture by two community organizers in El Salvador.

Isabella Maldonado, president of OLE, says the monthlong event is intended for both those who have never been exposed to Latino culture and those who miss the familiar Latin traditions of their homes.

Maldonado says she expects a very good turnout to the semiformal dance, due in part to the recent popularity of Latin-music acts such as Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias. "Latin music has really blown up recently, but it's been around forever," Maldonado says. "It's nice that people are opening up to this type of music. It's a gateway for people to begin to hear and appreciate [Latin] culture."

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, there also will be a showing of the movie El Norte at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27, in the AMR1 Multipurpose Room. The movie is about a Guatemalan migration to the United States. A discussion panel will follow.