UTRGV celebrates Hispanic culture

Actor Wilmer Valderrama will speak at UTRGV as part of the campus’ Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

Valderrama, who is also a producer and singer, will be the featured speaker for Student Activities’ Distinguished Speaker Series. He will speak at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Performing Arts Complex in Edinburg.

The celebration, which begins today and continues through Oct. 15, forms part of the Diversity and Intercultural Programming, under Leadership and Social Change.

“Leadership and Social Change highlights different cultures throughout the university … the entire year,” said Vanessa Sandoval, a program coordinator for Leadership and Social Change.

This series of events has been celebrated since UTRGV opened in 2015, and held on both UTRGV campuses. More than 15 events will be hosted by different departments.

“We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in order to really provide students an opportunity to really engage with the culture,” said Raul Leal, a program coordinator for Leadership and Social Change.

The events hosted by Leadership and Social Change are as follows: a movie screening of “Stolen Education: The Legacy of Hispanic Racism in Schools,” planned Thursday on both campuses; Café Latino Americano, Sept. 26 on the Edinburg campus; Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Sept. 27 on the Brownsville campus; a Cultural Chat: Machismo and Toxic Masculinity, Oct. 4 on the Edinburg campus; and Talk about it S’more, Oct. 10 on the Brownsville campus.

Café Latino Americano is a popular event, according to Leal.

“We will be giving away free food from four different Latin American countries,” Leal said. “We will also be providing information about those countries … [and] a signature dish.”

The tentative countries to be highlighted are Mexico and Venezuela.

In the Cultural Chat, this year’s theme will be Machismo and Toxic Masculinity, Leal said.

“We want to talk about how in the Hispanic culture, oftentimes you’ll see a real big play on machismo,” he said. “Like how men have to be strong and [have] to be this ideal man and how that kind of plays on the concept of toxic masculinity and how we engage with other people.”

Other departments hosting as part of Hispanic Heritage Month:

–Campus Programming Board will host Fiestas Patrias from 7 to 8 p.m. today in the Main Courtyard in Brownsville and Tuesday on the Troxel Hall lawn in Edinburg.

The University Library on the Brownsville campus will host a Día De Los Muertos display from Oct. 1 to Nov. 2, and an exhibit, “Golden Passage,” from Edinburg artist Gaby Rico, from Oct. 8 to Dec. 14.

Natalia Sylvester, author of “Everyone Knows You Go Home” and “Chasing the Sun,” will speak Oct. 11 and 12 on both campuses in an event hosted by the Department of Mexican American Studies.

The Theater Department will present “Lucero and the Giants” at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Performing Arts Center on the Edinburg campus, and Oct. 26 in the Texas Southmost College Arts Center in Brownsville.

With these events, the university hopes students will explore cultures from different countries.

“It allows them to not only learn more about their culture, but to also have that community with one another and learning … and the different experiences [others] have gone through and … have that pride in their own culture,” Sandoval said.

Alexandra Martinez, a nutritional sciences sophomore who was born in Mexico, agrees that these events help people remember their roots.

“Sometimes, we forget about where we come from. … We adapt to this new culture [in] the United States,” she said. “We start practicing more the values from here and the culture … than the Hispanic [one].”

Martinez said that after getting more information, she plans to attend these events, especially for the food.

The events are going to be free and are exclusively for UTRGV students. Even though these events are about Hispanic celebrations, any student is welcome to learn more about the culture.

“There are various students that are not in the Hispanic culture, so learning and being able to have that pride and to showcase it … I think that … [is a] university experience that every student should have,” Sandoval said.

Student organizations and departments are welcome to join Hispanic Heritage Month and help with events, Sandoval said.

For more information and event updates, contact Leadership and Social Change at 665-2660 in Edinburg, and 882-5111 in Brownsville.