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Every course begins with a heartbeat — a heartbeat that cannot be heard, only felt. This is Hola Day at the CIB: a welcoming ritual that not only inaugurates a new stage but leaves a lasting mark.
A welcome that you feel with your whole body
Yesterday was Hola Day. And although we celebrate it three times a year, this time was different. Something resonated more deeply. Something overflowed. The protagonists, as always, were the new students — but also their fellow PCAC veterans, who, after just four months at the school, showed what it truly means to be a CIBer.
From the very first moment, everything is full of intention. Upon entering the building, each new student receives a T-shirt with a clear message: “I wanna be CIBer.” They put it on instantly, almost without thinking, as if instinctively recognizing the importance of the step they’re taking. The course hasn’t started yet, but the transformation has already begun.
A 'batucada' you can't rehearse
In the CIB atrium, the music bursts forth. The batucada isn’t a performance — it’s a call. The veterans blend with the professional musicians, but this time something felt different. They played with an authenticity that can't be faked. They improvised, laughed, and energized one another — and they passed that energy on to everyone around them.
More than 120 people vibrated to the rhythm of the drums. The sound never stopped — and no one wanted it to. Watching from above, the moment was profoundly moving. It felt as if everything the CIB stands for — passion, community, freedom, energy — was beating at once in that space.
From students to hosts
After the music comes the most valuable gesture: chaperoning. The veterans blend with the newcomers, guiding them, showing them around the school, sharing what can't be found in the catalogs. They act as hosts, yes — but also as mirrors. They reflect what the newcomers themselves will soon become.
Finally, at the end of the tour, the symbolic moment arrives: they receive their uniforms, their knives, their backpacks. But the essential transformation has already taken place. They are now part of the CIB.
K5: where emotion becomes friendship
But Hola Day doesn’t end when the drums fall silent. After everything wraps up, the students — new and old — cross the street to Hui’s little bar, right in front of the school. A modest place, but one loaded with meaning. They call it K5 because if the CIB kitchens are named K1, K2, K3, and K4, this is their natural next space.
There, over sodas and beers, the real conversations begin — the ones that need no introductions or excuses. There, the first friendships are born, the first plans are made, and the first laughs echo as if they’ve been shared for a lifetime. It’s at K5 where Hola Day seals the bond that will unite them.
More than an event, more than a day
Yesterday was the best Hola Day we can remember. Not because everything was perfect, but because everything was real. Because the students weren’t just welcomed — they were embraced by a community that vibrates and dreams together.
This is how the journey begins: not with a class, but with a heartbeat — and, as so often, with a beer at K5.
