From Echo Park to Berkeley: How One Student Found Her Rhythm

Tania Lopez, a second-year landscape architecture student, has a vision: to design community spaces in Los Angeles where people feel safe and connected. Which, if you think about it, is a pretty essential human need. Turns out, her own journey to connection started early, with a whole lot of skirt-swishing.

Since the tender age of three, dance has been Tania's language. Growing up in Echo Park, L.A., in an Indigenous Oaxacan household, her parents enrolled her in an Early Head Start program. Right next door, an elementary school offered dance classes for kids from lower-income families. That's where the rhythm first grabbed her, subtly connecting her to her Oaxacan roots long before she even knew what that meant.

She trained in everything from ballet to hip hop, jazz to salsa. But it was ballet folklórico in high school that really clicked. This traditional Mexican dance style, a vibrant mix of regional folk culture, ballet, and pure stage spectacle, felt different. It was challenging, yes, but also deeply comforting. It just felt like home.

Each dance is a vibrant postcard from a specific Mexican region, told through intricate costumes, pulsating music, and those incredible, swirling skirt movements. Tania learned about regions she'd never even heard of. Some dances mimic ocean waves, others celebrate agricultural traditions. It was so captivating, she joined a folklórico group specifically focused on Oaxacan cultural dances. Suddenly, her parents' traditions weren't just stories; they were movements she could embody.

Finding Her Tribe at Berkeley

Heading off to UC Berkeley, Tania had the very understandable worry about finding her people. But the universe, or at least the campus, had other plans. She stumbled upon OaxaCal, a student group for Oaxacan students, and joined her very first semester. Now, she's a co-lead in their marketing department, which sounds like a lot more fun when you're promoting cultural pride.

She also joined Ballet Folklórico Reflejos del Sol at Berkeley, a group that teaches and performs traditional Mexican folklórico dances across the East Bay Area. Finding both her Oaxacan community and a folklórico group at Berkeley has, unsurprisingly, made the sprawling campus feel a lot less daunting and a lot more like home.

Tania's parents, especially her mom, who grew up in a small Oaxacan village, beam with pride at her performances. Her mom always wished she could have danced folklórico, but her family couldn't afford the dresses or the classes. So, these dances aren't just for Tania; they're a vibrant tribute to her parents, to their sacrifices, and to a heritage she proudly carries forward.

Now, as a landscape architecture student, Tania's full circle moment is on the horizon. She wants to return to Los Angeles and design public spaces for families in lower-income neighborhoods, creating those same safe, connected spaces she experienced as a child learning to dance. Because, as she's learned, sometimes the best way to build community is to simply give people a place to belong, and maybe, just maybe, a little room to dance.

At Berkeley, Tania has found a community that feels like family. Even when school gets tough, this community reminds her that she belongs. Berkeley has given Oaxacan students a place to celebrate their identities, one step, one swirl, one shared laugh at a time.