With Hispanic Heritage Month underway, students from UTRGV, a Hispanic-serving institution, say it is important to celebrate the culture.
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, when different cultures and the impact they have had in the United States are celebrated.
Samantha Lopez, director of International Student Services, said more than half of the 800 international students attending UTRGV are from Mexico.
“We are one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-serving institutions,” Lopez said. “About 60% of our international students are Hispanic.”
Lopez said students of other Hispanic countries, such as Colombia, Chile, Peru, El Salvador, Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala, Ecuador and Panama, also attend UTRGV.
She said the university will host events that showcase rich cultural traditions of the Hispanic community, including art exhibits, music, dance and lectures.
Stephanie Alvarez, a Mexican American studies professor, invites the community to events happening on campus.
A Xicanx Punk Poetry event, featuring Amalia Ortiz y Las Hijas de la Madre, will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Liberal Arts Building South Room 107 on the Edinburg campus and 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Salón Cassia on the Brownsville campus. The event is sponsored by the Mexican American Studies Academic Program and the Creative Writing department.
Jessica Lavariega Monforti, author and vice provost of California State University Channel Islands, will speak about her book, “Proving Patriotismo,” at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 7 on the Edinburg campus. The location will be announced later. The lecture is sponsored by the Mexican American Studies Academic Program and the Political Science department.
Authors Aurelio Montemayor and Thomas Ray García, an English professor at South Texas College, will talk about their book, “El Curso de la Raza,” at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Sabal Hall Room 2.102 on the Brownsville campus. The book is about Montemayor’s life as a Chicano activist and educator. He is a senior education associate and family engagement coordinator at the Intercultural Development Research Association in San Antonio.
Alvarez said she prefers to call the celebration Latinx Heritage Month, instead of Hispanic Heritage Month.
“I don’t really like the word Hispanic because it is a term that has been imposed by the U.S. government and it highlights Spanish ancestry,” she said, “For me, it is an important month because it visualizes Chicanos and Latinos in the United States. … This provides an opportunity to, at least for a month, highlight some of the ways that Latino people have contributed to the United States.”
Education freshman Gabby Torres said music plays an important role in Hispanic culture.
“Tejano artists, reggaeton artists–I think they really give Hispanics the recognition that they deserve and just really expands our culture a lot more through their music,” Torres said.
Kimberly Harlow, a mechanical engineering freshman, said it is important to celebrate the month.
“I think what is important is to express it as much as possible,” Harlow said. “Nowadays, it is getting lost with how many cultures we have in Texas, so I think expressing it as much as we can is important to keep it alive.”
In observance, the Conceptos Dance Ensemble will present Nuestra Herencia, a concert that will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. in the Edinburg Municipal Auditorium, located at 200 N. Seventh Ave. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children age 10 and younger.
“This two-hour dance concert celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with vibrant music and costumes,” according to a City of Edinburg Culture Arts department’s Facebook post.
