TO AN END, ONE LOCAL DANCE STUDIO IS KEEPING THE CULTURE ALIVE IN NEW ORLEANS AND THROUGH THE MOVEMENTS OF CUBAN CASINO PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE ARE LEARNING NOT JUST THOSE STEPS, BUT THE LANGUAGE, RHYTHM, AND STORIES THAT DEFINE THE CULTURE. INSIDE A SMALL DANCE STUDIO IN NEW ORLEANS. LUNA. SEA AIR IS. ELECTRIC. PARTNERS SPIN FEET SHUFFLE AND VOICES CALL OUT IN SPANISH. ST. TAMMANY. THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF CUBAN CASINO, A SOCIAL DANCE BORN FROM THE STREETS OF HAVANA, NOW TAKING CUES IN THE CRESCENT CITY IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND FAMILIES AND HOMES OF EVERYDAY CUBANS. ONE, TWO. UP HERE AT DULAC NOLA DANCES AREN’T JUST LEARNING STEPS, THEY’RE LEARNING CULTURE. ARE JUST GIVE ME SOME SWAG. HISPANIC CULTURE IS SO. RICH AND ROBUST, AND EVERY CLASS IS A BRIDGE TO CUBA’S HISTORY. WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO REALLY FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS NICHE OF CUBAN CULTURE THAT WE TRY TO SPREAD WITH OUR COMMUNITY. NICOLE GOLDEN MEADOW AND NINE OTHER WOMEN STARTED NOLA. IT WAS JUST FRIENDS GETTING TOGETHER, SOCIAL DANCING, AND THEN THE GUYS JUST JOINED US, AND THEN IT JUST BECAME A COMMUNITY, JUST ORGANICALLY PRESERVING AND SHARING CUBAN CULTURE IN NEW ORLEANS, A CITY WHOSE OWN HEARTBEAT IS DEEPLY TIED TO THE CARIBBEAN. THIS IS REALLY A CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY. WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE, AND THERE’S SO MANY NATIONALITIES HERE, SO IT’S OBVIOUS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BECAUSE OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, PEOPLE WANT TO LEARN DIFFERENT THINGS, DIFFERENT CUISINES, DIFFERENT DANCES, DIFFERENT CULTURES, DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. FOR MANY, THE CLASS IS ALSO A CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY, A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS COME TOGETHER THROUGH MUSIC. WE’VE GOT MEMBERS FROM ALL THE WAY FROM 80 YEARS OLD TO IN THEIR TEENS. AND I MEAN, IT’S JUST BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND CONNECT WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE, DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, LEARN SO MUCH WITH EACH BEAT AND CALL. SAY IT WITH ME. THE DANCERS PICK UP SPANISH THROUGH THE SONGS, COMMANDS AND CONVERSATION. LEARNING LANGUAGE THROUGH RHYTHM AND REPETITION. MY SPANISH VOCABULARY HAS GROWN. I BY NO MEANS SPEAK SPANISH. BUT THAT WAS THAT WAS A STRUGGLE FOR ME AT FIRST, BECAUSE NOT ONLY AM I LEARNING NEW DANCE MOVES, I’M LEARNING THE CALLS. I’M LEARNING HOW TO ASSOCIATE. I’VE LEARNED THE MEANINGS OF SOME OF THEM. FOR GOLDEN MEADOW, THE DANCE FLOOR IS ALSO A PLATFORM FOR ACTIVISM. I WANT EVERYBODY TO BE INDIVIDUALLY EMPOWERED. A WAY TO PUSH BACK AGAINST CULTURAL ERASURE AND. CELEBRATE THE SEASON. THE FLAVOR OF LIFE. WE SHOW THAT WE SUPPORT SOMETHING THAT IS OFTENTIMES, ESPECIALLY IN THESE DAYS, PUSHED TO THE SIDE. AND THAT’S SOMETHING LIKE HISPANIC HERITAGE. AS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH REMINDS PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE LATINO CONTRIBUTIONS, THIS NEW ORLEANS COMMUNITY IS DOING IT. ONE SPIN AND ONE SPANISH WORD ALAVEZ. IT’S OKAY TO LEARN FROM OTHERS, AND IT’S OKAY TO BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY MYSEL
Dile Que NOLA keeps Hispanic culture alive through dancing
Updated: 12:12 AM CDT Oct 16, 2025
A local dance studio is keeping Hispanic culture alive in New Orleans through the movements of Cuban casino.Inside a small dance studio in New Orleans, the air is electric as partners spin, feet shuffle, and voices call out in Spanish, the universal language of Cuban Casino, a social dance born from the streets of Havana that’s now taking cues in the Crescent City.At Dile Que NOLA, dancers aren’t just learning steps; they’re learning culture, and every class is a bridge to Cuba’s history.We’ve been able to fall in love with this niche of Cuban culture that we try to spread with our community,” said Dile Que NOLA Executive Director Nicole Goldin Muro.Muro, along with nine other women, started Dile Que NOLA, preserving and sharing Cuban culture in New Orleans.”It was just friends getting together, social dancing, and then the guys joined us, and it became a community organically,” said Muro.For Darren Mire, the dance reminds him of his hometown’s culture, a city whose own heartbeat is deeply tied to the Caribbean.”It’s really a Caribbean community when it’s all said and done. It’s so many nationalities here, so it’s obvious because of different nationalities, we want to learn different things. Different cuisines, different dances, different cultures, and different languages,” said Mire. The classes held several days a week are also a celebration of diversity, a place where people from all backgrounds come together through music.”We got members from all the way from 80 years old to their teens. It’s been an opportunity to meet and connect with so many different people, different backgrounds, and learn so much,” said LeDuffWith each beat and call, the dancers pick up Spanish through the songs, commands, and conversation. Lori LeDuff said that’s the beauty of the class, learning language through rhythm and repetition.”My Spanish vocabulary has grown. I by no means speak Spanish, but that was a struggle for me at first because not only am I learning new dance moves, I’m learning the calls, how to associate and learn the meaning of some of them,” said LeDuff.For Muro, the dance floor is also a platform for activism, a way to push back against cultural erasure and celebrate the sazón, the flavor of life. “I want everyone to be individually empowered. We show that we support something that is oftentimes, especially in these days, pushed to the side, and that’s something like Hispanic Heritage,” said Muro.As Hispanic Heritage Month reminds people to celebrate Latino contributions, this New Orleans community is doing it one spin and one Spanish word, a la vez.”It’s okay to learn from others and it’s okay to be unapologetically myself,” said Muro.
A local dance studio is keeping Hispanic culture alive in New Orleans through the movements of Cuban casino.
Inside a small dance studio in New Orleans, the air is electric as partners spin, feet shuffle, and voices call out in Spanish, the universal language of Cuban Casino, a social dance born from the streets of Havana that’s now taking cues in the Crescent City.
At Dile Que NOLA, dancers aren’t just learning steps; they’re learning culture, and every class is a bridge to Cuba’s history.
We’ve been able to fall in love with this niche of Cuban culture that we try to spread with our community,” said Dile Que NOLA Executive Director Nicole Goldin Muro.
Muro, along with nine other women, started Dile Que NOLA, preserving and sharing Cuban culture in New Orleans.
“It was just friends getting together, social dancing, and then the guys joined us, and it became a community organically,” said Muro.
For Darren Mire, the dance reminds him of his hometown’s culture, a city whose own heartbeat is deeply tied to the Caribbean.
“It’s really a Caribbean community when it’s all said and done. It’s so many nationalities here, so it’s obvious because of different nationalities, we want to learn different things. Different cuisines, different dances, different cultures, and different languages,” said Mire.
The classes held several days a week are also a celebration of diversity, a place where people from all backgrounds come together through music.
“We got members from all the way from 80 years old to their teens. It’s been an opportunity to meet and connect with so many different people, different backgrounds, and learn so much,” said LeDuff
With each beat and call, the dancers pick up Spanish through the songs, commands, and conversation.
Lori LeDuff said that’s the beauty of the class, learning language through rhythm and repetition.
“My Spanish vocabulary has grown. I by no means speak Spanish, but that was a struggle for me at first because not only am I learning new dance moves, I’m learning the calls, how to associate and learn the meaning of some of them,” said LeDuff.
For Muro, the dance floor is also a platform for activism, a way to push back against cultural erasure and celebrate the sazón, the flavor of life.
“I want everyone to be individually empowered. We show that we support something that is oftentimes, especially in these days, pushed to the side, and that’s something like Hispanic Heritage,” said Muro.
As Hispanic Heritage Month reminds people to celebrate Latino contributions, this New Orleans community is doing it one spin and one Spanish word, a la vez.
“It’s okay to learn from others and it’s okay to be unapologetically myself,” said Muro.
