Nicole Valdez and Kevin Cano
Photo courtesy of Nuworld Photography

Colorado State University-Pueblo sophomore Kevin Cano and dance partner Nicole Valdez won the top prize at this year’s Dancing with the Pueblo Starz.

The event, which was held at the Pueblo Convention Center Saturday Sept. 6, is an annual dance competition and fundraiser put on by the Pueblo Downtown Association.

Every year, the association nominates prominent Puebloans to participate in the event. The nominees are then allowed to choose a partner and a style of dance to perform.

Valdez, an advertising account executive at the Pueblo Chieftain, asked Cano to compete with her in the event.

“We created an Egyptian, tribal (and) warrior routine because we really wanted to stand out and break free from the traditional ballroom you see on the television version of Dancing with the Starz,” Cano said.

Cano and Valdez competed against seven couples, including CSU-Pueblo wide receiver Paul Browning and Director of Alumni Relations Tracy Samora.

“Everybody that performed had nothing but smiles and top-notch choreography,” Cano said.

Cano and Valdez started practicing six weeks prior to the event. They “worked collaboratively with some help from Lori’s Studio of Dance and Performing Arts,” he said.

The event charged $75 for individual tickets and $700 for a table of 10. The money raised there will benefit the non-profit association and the Pueblo Young Marines.

Cano says that even though he has never taken a dance class, he has always been interested in performing. “My mom would tell me that even when I was in the car seat when I was little that I would be jamming out to the music,” he said.

Today, Cano is a fitness instructor at Inzone Fitness and Pueblo Athletic Club. In 2012, he was certified as a Zumba instructor.

“I have been a fitness instructor since I was a junior in high school, which I find really cool,” he said.

In addition to his fitness classes, Cano is a DJ for REV89. He hosts “Wake up Pueblo!” Saturday mornings and can be heard most weeknights after 9 p.m.

He is currently an undeclared major but “with my interest in Rev89 I think I am planning on majoring in mass communications and possibly minoring in exercise science,” he said.

CSU-Pueblo Foundation’s On the Move campaign

The Colorado State University-Pueblo Foundation’s “On the Move” campaign is ahead of schedule. The campaign, which will fund scholarships, the Occhiato University Center renovation and new and improved athletic programs, is already 40 percent complete.

The Foundation estimates that it will take a total of three years to reach its overall goal of $25 million. Introduced in August 2013 and beginning its second year, the campaign has raised $10.3 million to date.

In the year since the campaign was introduced, the Foundation has attracted 650 new donors.

“The campaign has engaged new donors, and new alumni donors in particular, who are considering the future of this institution,” CSU-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare said in a press release.

The Foundation has also been able to retain the support of 854 pre-existing donors.

It still needs to raise $15 million over the next two years in order to reach its end goal.

“We still have a lot of work to do. We still need a lot of people’s help,” said Todd Kelly, CEO and president of the Foundation.

If the goal is reached, $15 million of the “On the Move” funds will go to scholarships, $5 million to athletics and $5 million to the OUC renovation.

The $5 million that will go to athletics will be split in half to accommodate athletic scholarships and an overall athletic expansion.

The university is introducing six new sports and plans to make improvements to the soccer and lacrosse field with the help of the Foundation’s funding.

Improvements in the OUC will include a 76,000-square-foot expansion, which will comprise of new options for dining on campus, study areas, a ballroom and conference rooms.

Kelly says the Foundation will continue to use mass marketing strategies to attract donors. One such method is “First and Ten for Education.”

The program asks potential donors to contribute $10 to the campaign by texting the Foundation on the first Friday of every month. The $10 would be tacked onto a donor’s phone bill and eventually find its way to the general scholarship fund.

“A $10 gift is a big gift,” Kelly said. “I am thankful for everybody that has donated to the campaign.”

Kelly encourages everyone to donate to the campaign, even students.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot if we collectively come together as a community,” he said.

“Every gift we get is very important. It doesn’t matter if it’s $10 from a student or $10 million from a former alum. Every gift we get we cherish.”

Donations to the campaign can be made at csuponthemove.org.

Fiesta Queen, Andrea Casados, visits with the REV89 crew at the Colorado State Fair.

Colorado State University-Pueblo student Andrea Casados has overcome adversity to become local royalty. The sophomore political science major was crowned Fiesta Queen in July and will be participating in a slew of events this weekend at the Colorado State Fair.

Casados competed with eight other college students and was judged and crowned by Pueblo’s Fiesta Committee, which works in conjunction with the fair.

As a fair ambassador, Casados has been tasked with attending all of the events hosted there, most importantly those on Fiesta Day.

Her day will include participation in the Fiesta Parade and singing at the Coke and Grand Stand Stages. All of this will be done in a quinceanera dress that she has never seen before.

“Even if I show up and my dress isn’t what I thought it was I still have to say ‘thank you.’ This is so great,’” Casados joked.

Along with her involvement with the Fiesta Committee, Casados is the senate speaker for CSU-Pueblo’s Associated Students’ Government, a College of Humanities and Social Sciences senator and a part of CSU-Pueblo’s choir.

“You can never say you missed an opportunity when you didn’t go out and get it,” Casados said.

Casados’s ambition has largely been motivated by the hardships she has faced.

She entered college as a first generation student. “My parents didn’t even finish high school,” she said.

Two years ago, her best friend committed suicide. Casados’s role as Fiesta Queen has given her an influential platform that she plans to use to speak out against suicide.

Casados is also adamant about using her newfound power to express the importance of education to Pueblo youths.

“There are a lot of young girls who are Hispanic, who come from the same background I do, who grew up in a Lower East Side neighborhood, who don’t think they can go to college,” Casados said.

Growing up, Casados saw her predecessors as role models. She plans on continuing that legacy for a new generation.

“Girls look to you and I always mention that, before I am a queen, I am a student and my education is first and foremost.”

“There are things you cannot overcome and that’s fine but you can do it,” she said. “I’m a prime example.”

The Fiesta Committee established the role of Fiesta Queen in 1967 to promote Fiesta Day. Since its inception, the committee’s goal has been to make the queen “a Hispanic staple in the community” Casados said.

Along with the crown and influential role, Casados will receive a scholarship.

She is contracted to attend five Latino Chamber of Commerce meetings, make four school appearances, as well as performances at a number of local venues throughout the year. She is already scheduled to speak at six elementary schools this year, including the one she attended as a child.

The Fiesta Parade, which will stretch from Northern Avenue to Sprague Avenue, begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and Casados’s performance is at 3 p.m. at the Coke Stage.