Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 marks Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month all around the United States. In honor of this, Trinity University is celebrating the tradition in various ways, spearheaded by the Mexico, the Americas and Spain (MAS) program, the Trinity University Latino Association (TULA) and the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office (SDIO). Through these different organizations coming together, eight different dates have been scheduled for events all around the Trinity and San Antonio area, presenting a variety of opportunities for the Trinity community to explore and learn more about Latinx and Hispanic culture.
With all of the planned activities, Trinity is going to celebrate Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month is going to be celebrated in a myriad of ways. Dania Abreu-Torres, director of the MAS program, spoke on the importance of all of these events, representing the different facets of those with a Latinx background.
“Usually when we think about language community, we think about immigration, or we think about politics and the border,” Abreu-Torres said. “There is a lot more to the Latinx community. Now, of course, that is an integral part and it’s something that is going to be discussed in different ways in all the events, but there is a lot more. … There’s a lot of art, culture, community experiences, and what we want to represent is that kaleidoscope of different histories now, to bring it together and for everybody to engage into it and at least kind of plant a seed.”
The month of festivities kicked off with a mercado in Coates Esplanade held by SDIO and the presentation of an oral history project on the Latinx experience at Trinity on Sept. 20. This was followed by a HumaniTea event centered on Latinx heritage discussions on the 26th held by the Humanities Collective.
Out of everything planned, one of the biggest productions will be Viva Las Americas on Oct. 6. Amid family weekend, TULA is directing a talent showcase that will conclude with the musical group Combo Cósmico and an array of food. The event starts at 6:30 p.m., and students of various backgrounds will show off their talents through dance, music or any other medium at Laurie Auditorium.
Melissa Rosario, junior history and biology double-major, serves as co-president for TULA. Of the events their organization has planned out for the month, Viva Las Americas stands as one of the most exciting.
“There’s an array of people and identities within the Hispanic culture,” Rosario said. “I feel like people automatically go to Mexican, but it’s not. So that’s what we try to do, especially in Viva [Las Americas], we try to get at least one food item from the different countries and represent that. We try to represent all the Hispanics, all of the people, even though we might not be from that specific country, we basically try to represent all of those people. It’s a celebration of culture and identity.”
Alongside Viva Las Americas, there are plenty of other dates to take note of. On Oct. 4, Rigoberta Menchu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, will be presenting at the University of the Incarnate Word. There will be two different book presentations throughout the month, along with a culinary-focused Latin American event on Oct. 11. TULA is working with SPB to have a trip to the theater to watch the movie Blue Beetle. There will also be an event for Día de los Muertos featuring food, traditional altars and a showing of “The Book of Life.” The month’s festivities will close off on Oct. 12 with writer and activist Anel Flores speaking at Dicke Hall.
Each and every one of these events is open to all individuals in the Trinity community. The purpose of the heritage month is to uplift Latinx and Hispanic culture while also educating those who may be unaware.
“Our goals are to reach the whole … community, not just the specific Latino people,” Rosario said. “We wanted to be inclusive, as in, anyone can come. You don’t have to speak Spanish. You don’t have to have some family member or someone that’s of Hispanic descent. As long as you want to submerge yourself in the culture. Just learn, come, enjoy food and you’re welcome to come join us.”
Adam Garza, senior neuroscience major, serves as the other co-president of TULA. With everything going on this month, he stressed the importance of TULA’s own goals in the coming weeks.
“We want the Latinx voice to be heard, respected and loved,” Garza said. “I feel like that’s our main message for now. We really want to push all the cultures of Latinx and what that means, whether it be anything with race, gender, ethnicity or even nationality because there is a slew of nationalities across all of Latin America, and we all come from very different parts.”
