Tesoro is the Spanish word for treasure. Typically, tesoros are the stuff of pirate dreams: gold, jewels and ancient chests filled with precious booty.

The thousands who gathered Saturday evening at the LDS Conference Center were reminded of other tesoros — friendship, culture, history and faith.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once again hosted an evening of Latino culture, music and dance. Dubbed "Tesoros de las Americas" (treasures of the Americas), the event included a cast of hundreds performing colorful and often foot-stomping musical numbers. As in years past, the evening celebrated the many cultural traditions that are becoming increasingly visible along the Wasatch Front.

This year's edition — conducted entirely in Spanish — was a bit of a departure from past Latino cultural events held at the Conference Center. Featured performance and musical numbers went beyond those originating from Spanish-speaking countries and included folk dances from the South Pacific, Brazil and Native American cultures.

The well-known and seemingly ubiquitous legend of a light-skinned god who visited the ancient people of the Americas served as a central theme, tying together many of the event's diverse dance and musical numbers. Narrative segments that preceded the performances spoke of how such legends taught lasting lessons of peace and harmony.

Live music accompanied festive folk dances from Hawaii, Samoa, Peru, Brazil , El Salvador, Mexico and several other nations and cultures. The performing stage was adorned with recognizable symbols of ancient America.

Each of the dance numbers prompted an animated response from the Conference Center audience. The Mexican dances received the loudest applause — perhaps a reflection of the large number of Mexicans who helped fill the hall.

"Tesoros de las Americas" also marked a historic year for the church. It was 125 years ago that the church was officially organized in Mexico. Today there are some 1 million members of the LDS Church in that Latin American nation. The evening also commemorated the 120th anniversary of the publication of the Book of Mormon in Spanish.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke briefly at the end of the event, calling it an "excellent program."

"What a wonderful way to get together this evening as brothers and sisters and friends and neighbors," Elder Ballard said.

Elder L. Whitney Clayton, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, spoke of the Book of Mormon and its account of Christ's visit to the Americas that reads similar to those legends of a fair-skinned god and his teachings among the ancients.

Many in attendance hope the church-sponsored Latino cultural event will continue.

"This is a special night for Latinos," said Pablo Luque, an LDS Mexican who now calls Salt Lake City home. "Events like this help unite the Latino members of the church. We moved to Utah to find that unity."

Angela Reyes performed folk songs from her native Colombia in the Conference Center foyer prior to the cultural program. Reyes said such events help show a "new face" of her country that is sometimes unseen by outsiders.

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E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com