Wilmer Valderrama, an actor and activist, will speak about his childhood in Venezuela as the Distinguished Speakers Series guest at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex in Edinburg.
Valderrama starred in “That 70s Show” TV series and was the voice of Manny on Disney’s animated children’s show, “Handy Manny.” Currently, he is a cast member on the CBS drama “NCIS.”
He is a board member of Voto Latino and a spokesman for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Ready 2 Lead program. He also co-founded HARNESS, a group that connects communities and inspires action and power change.
Cindy Mata-Vasquez, UTRGV director of Student Activities, told The Rider the university is expecting “a good-sized crowd.”
“So, what I would recommend, students can start lining up outside of the Performing Arts Center as early as they’d like,” Mata-Vasquez said. “I know in the past, for previous speakers, students had started lining up at 4 [p.m.]”
Priority admittance will be given to students, faculty and staff.
“I would recommend, I’m not saying line up super early, but I think about 4, 5 [p.m.] if they can line up, they would be guaranteed a good seat,” Mata-Vasquez said.
Students are allowed to bring a family member.
“Let’s say, if you’re bringing your son or daughter or younger sibling, I’ve allowed one guest to come in with you,” she said. “But if it’s your whole family, the rest of your family members or friends would have to go stand in line, the community line.”
About 1,000 people are expected to attend.
“A lot of our speakers do feed off the crowd, so if they’re feeling good energy, they’ll continue taking questions, but I don’t think we’ll be there past 9 [p.m.],” Mata-Vasquez said.
She hopes students will remember to be courteous to the speaker and other audience members.
“You can take pictures, but not flash photography … to allow others behind them to have a clear view,” Mata-Vasquez said.
The next Distinguished Speaker Series guest is George Takei, an actor who is perhaps best known for playing Hikaru Sulu in the “Star Trek” TV series. He will speak on Jan. 28 on the Brownsville campus.
Students who want to help select the next speakers may submit an online application to join the Distinguished Speaker Series Committee by visiting https://www.utrgv.edu/involvement/student-activities/distinguished-speaker-series/index.htm.
For more information about the series, call 665-7364 in Edinburg or 882-5111 in Brownsville.
