2019 Hispanic Cultural Event Luz de Las Naciones to Celebrate “Un Hogar para Todos” (“A Home for All”)

• 17 October 2019

Dancers and musicians perform during the Luz de las Naciones event December 17, 2016, in the Conference Center.

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“A home for all means that, although sometimes we arrive from different Latin countries and feel a little alone or lost, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is always a place for everyone.” —Elder Jorge T. Becerra, Area Seventy

UPDATED: A video of the November 2, 2019, Luz de las Naciones: A Home for All musical production is available below, on Canal Mormon, YouTube, and Gospel Media on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

A free musical production of Luz de las Naciones (Light of the Nations) will be held November 2, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. in the Conference Center on Temple Square.

Luz de las Naciones, which means “light of the nations,” is an annual musical production celebrating cultures and stories from Latin America and featuring over 750 people in the cast, including a youth and young adult choir, musicians, storytellers, and dance groups. The cultural event—the largest of its kind in Utah—has been celebrating the richness of Latin culture through music and dance for 19 years.

The theme of this year’s event, “Un Hogar para Todos” (“A Home for All”), celebrates the importance of family and home, heritage and belonging, and the things that matter most.

“A home for all means that, although sometimes we arrive from different Latin countries and feel a little alone or lost, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is always a place for everyone,” said Elder Jorge T. Becerra, Area Seventy. He also emphasized this is the same feeling shared by Hispanic members who congregate in more than 140 Latin units across Utah.

Creating a production of this kind is not easy. For months, Israel González-Nieri, music director of Luz de las Naciones, has worked with the choir of adults and children numbering more than 300 voices from most of the countries of Latin America, Spain, the United States, and Equatorial Guinea (Africa). “This year in particular, the choir will sing in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and even in Hebrew,” he said. “Many of the participants come with almost no experience or musical aptitude, and, little by little, they develop musically over the months.”

Argentine artist and Latter-day Saint Jorge Cocco was commissioned to design the poster image for the event. Known for his unique cubist style of art, Cocco’s painting features a man and woman dancing and celebrating amid various elements of Latin American culture, such as food, clothing, and musical instruments.

Watch the entire 2020 Luz del las Naciones event.

Cocco said he was inspired by the celebration of life, heritage, and cultural wealth of the indigenous populations of the Americas. “The woman’s dress is covered by diverse artistic styles of patterns typical of the different major indigenous populations of the Americas, almost looking like DNA strands, referring to the pride in our heritage,” he explained. “As extensions to the dress, important icons characteristic of Latin American cultures are united together but maintaining their individuality, as a simile of the different countries and particular subcultures that unite the people of the Americas but with the understanding that there are differences as well.”

Luz de las Naciones is a free, nonticketed event. According to Elder Becerra, it is a celebration open to anyone who wishes to feel part of the great human family. “Through music, dance, and Latin traditions, we send a symbolic hug to all attendees who celebrate with us our cultures and our love for Jesus Christ.”

The event begins at 8:00 p.m. in the main auditorium of the Conference Center on Temple Square. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and seating is first-come, first-served.

New Security Guidelines

Please note that personal items will not be stored. Please do not bring large bags, backpacks, or packages. Small bags and purses will be allowed once they are checked. Infant strollers will not be allowed or stored at the event. People who bring prohibited items will be asked to store them outside Church premises. Please see the Event Guidelines and Restrictions website for more detailed information.

The 2019 poster in Spanish features an image painted by Argentine artist and Latter-day Saint Jorge Cocco.

Children perform during the Luz de las Naciones event on December 17, 2016, in the Conference Center.

Dancers perform during the Luz de las Naciones event in the Conference Center on Sunday, October 25, 2015. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

A cast of 1,000 people perform during a rehearsal of “My Family, Mi Herencia,” a cultural event celebrating families and cultures and stories from Latin America, staged March 3, 2018, in the Conference Center.

Dancers perform during a dress rehearsal of the Luz de las Naciones event in the Conference Center on December 4, 2013. Photo by Matt Gade, Deseret News.

Dancers perform during the Luz de las Naciones event on December 17, 2016, in the Conference Center.

Dancers perform during the Luz de las Naciones event on Sunday, October 25, 2015. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

• Events, Music and Arts