Arturo Hilario
El Observador
The sights and sounds of Latino Heritage Night at Chase Center are a bit mariachi, a bit salsa, and a whole lot of fun to experience.
On Wednesday March 25 the Warriors held their annual Latino Heritage Night to a packed house despite it also coinciding with the San Francisco Giants opening night less than a mile away. It happened to be the 600th consecutive sellout game for the Warriors, and it came on a night of special performances and a focus on Latino culture.
The crowds came to see the Brooklyn Nets take on their beloved Dubs, but they were also entertained with some highlights of Latino music, dance and dazzle.
To start off the festivities, it was a giveaway night, and for the first 10,000 fans it happened to be one of the most fun giveaways and sports traditions, the bobblehead. This bobblehead also coincided with Latino Heritage Night, with it being of Dominican Warriors player Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso (Al Horford) in a Warriors uniform holding a basketball and draped in a Dominican flag.
Horford was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and has had a storied career, from being a 5X NBA All-Star to winning the NBA championship in 2024 with the Boston Celtics. He joined the Golden State Warriors in October 2025.
Once equipped with a Al Horford bobblehead, fans were treated to the first of the on-court Latino celebrations, the National Anthem performed by San Jose native Gabriela Sepulveda, a regional Mexican music performer of Mexican-Chilean heritage who was wearing a show-stopping blue dress accented with red, pink and yellow roses. She has had experience with sports crowds before as she has performed for the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, San Jose Earthquakes, San Jose Sharks, and the (former) Oakland A’s.
Gabriela Sepulveda is a San Jose native and regional Mexican music performer who sang the National Anthem at the Latino Heritage Night hosted by the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Wednesday March 25, 2026. Photo Credit: Arturo Hilario / El Observador
Asked about the emotions she has being able to perform before her favorite local teams take the court, she says, “It’s something so special, and it’s something that I respect so much because of what it represents, that 1 minute and 30 seconds, for my community and what it means to me. No one can take that away from me or from us, and so it’s not just about me. It’s about the community that’s standing behind me and what that anthem is representing in that moment. And so I do it with so much respect, with so much honor, with so much pride. It means so much to me.”
At the end of the first quarter, the Sacramento based all-female band Mariachi Bonitas de Dinorah, led by Dinorah Klingler, came to the court dressed in women’s style charro outfits and provided a powerful display of the traditional Mexican style of ballads as well as some lively covers too.
Klinger said, “Mexican music, Latin American music, truly has no limits, so it evokes and produces great joy in people. So we decided that these songs we played would have exactly that effect: to bring them joy, get them up out of their seats, and move a little, because that’s how we Latinos are.”
During halftime, a spirited performance by San Jose State University’s Salsa Dance Team Spartan Mambo ended the Latino Heritage festivities, taking up a large portion of the court as no less than a dozen pairs of dancers went through a mix of songs from traditional salsa to mambo and even a selection from Bad Bunny’s recent Grammy Award Album of the Year, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
The diverse mix of music that Spartan Mambo performed to emphasized how much salsa music encompasses various regions of Latin America and the complexities of it.
Spartan Mambo’s Takeshi Young, who has been dancing for 15 years, says the energy and mix of styles creates a special blend of Latin music.
“Salsa is so energetic, but it also has powerful and romantic moments. So it’s like very beautiful, very musical. There are layers of music you can hit and drums. And it’s a blend from very different countries, so that also makes it very special. Like, you can go Cuban, you can go Puerto Rican. So there’s a lot of flavors in there. That’s why it’s called salsa.”
With that the Golden State Warriors’ Latino Heritage Night came to an energetic close, but the game continued, with a last minute push by the Stephen Curry-less team (he was out due to injury) they captured the win against the Brooklyn Nets, ending the game at 109-106.
As the game ended in an electric conclusion, Latin music blasted over the speaker system and confetti slowly rained over the fans.
If there was one takeaway from the game and the performers that night, it was an appeal to follow your dreams, and if it’s in music especially, taking the first steps and the risk. From taking the beginner salsa class, and for kids, asking your parents to take you to music classes and never losing sight of your passions.
Sepulveda adds, “If there’s something that you love, it’s a calling. It is led by the divine. Like, follow it, pursue it. It’s your passion, and it’s there for a reason. Don’t listen to anyone else. This is something that is meant for you, so please don’t give up. Keep knocking on doors. I have faced so many rejections, but I realized that rejection is just a redirection. I wouldn’t be here if I would have given up.” So please do what you love, and when you feed that energy out into the world, you get so much back in return. And just do everything from the heart, and you will see all the magical possibilities that will come to you.”
For the artists who stood proudly displaying their crafts, those risks and dreams led them to nights like these, where for a moment at the 600th consecutive sellout crowd at Chase Center, the spotlight is theirs, but it’s also shared with all Latinos and all those willing to give them a listen.
