Purdue's Latino Cultural Center celebrates unity with Latino Heritage Month

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"Our goal is to celebrate our differences and similarities through this event," said Latino Cultural Center director Maricela Alvarado. "This year, the theme of Latino Heritage Month focuses on the connection of Latinos with indigenous, or native, cultures. Many Latinos descended from native cultures, as well as colonized cultures, and we want to recognize and celebrate those connections."

Purdue's events are part of the national Hispanic Heritage Month, established as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 and expanded in 1988 to a full monthlong celebration, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

This year's celebration of Latino heritage will begin at 5 p.m. Sept. 15 with the grand opening of the Latino Cultural Center's new location at 600 N. Russell St. Purdue President Martin C. Jischke will speak at the grand opening. This event will be shared with the opening ceremony of Latino Heritage Month, "Viva el Churro," which features free cinnamon sugar-bread treats of warm churros as a celebration of Latino culture around the world.

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Other events scheduled during the month include:

• Sept. 21, 4 p.m. Latino Cultural Center. The Latino/Native American Alumni Weekend: Latino Networking will give interested individuals the chance to meet alumni from Latino and Native American heritages.

• Sept. 22, 8 a.m. Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, Kampen Course. This golf outing continues the alumni weekend activities with a scramble for teams of four. Registration is $75 per person, including breakfast, warm up, greens fees, team certificates and a contribution to the Latino Cultural Center Embajadores Scholarship.

• Sept. 22, 3 p.m. Rawls Hall, Room 1011. The Tecumseh Project is a Graduate School program that offers support to Native American students pursuing graduate degrees at Purdue. This event will feature an introduction to the program for interested Purdue students.

• Sept. 22, 3 p.m. Latino Cultural Center Lounge. The Purdue Latino Alumni Organization will have a general meeting for its members and interested potential members.

• Sept. 22, 10 p.m. Location TBA. Latino Heritage Month Salsa Night is a night of salsa dancing.

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• Sept. 23, 9 a.m. Latino Cultural Center. The Purdue Latino Alumni Organization will sponsor a tailgating party for the 2006 Homecoming game-day events. The organization also will provide food.

• Sept. 23, 10 a.m. Memorial Mall. Along with the Purdue Alumni Association activities on Memorial Mall, a tent shared by the Purdue Latino Alumni Organization and the Latino Cultural Center will be present.

• Sept. 26, 7 p.m. Beering Hall, Room 2280. Sigma Lambda Gamma and Delta Phi Mu will present the film "Walkout," about the 1968 East L.A. student protests. A discussion will follow, led by American studies doctoral student Lee Bebout.

• Sept. 29, 5 p.m. Latino Cultural Center. The center will sponsor a reception for all Latino and Native American faculty and staff at Purdue.

• Sept. 30, 10 a.m. Latino Cultural Center. Polilla Café, the center's book club, will discuss "Reservation Blues," a novel by Sherman Alexie about the Native American Catholic rock band Coyote Springs.

• Oct. 4, 7 p.m. Stewart Center, Room 314. The creators of the documentary "Amoxtli San Ce Tojuan (We Are One)" will present and discuss their film. The documentary chronicles several stories about the journey of origins, migrations and connections to the ancient people of North America.

• Oct. 7, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Oct. 8, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fort Ouiatenon Historic Park. The Tippecanoe County Historical Association will sponsor the 39th Annual Feast of the Hunter's Moon. In the mid-1700s, French and Native Americans gathered each fall for a feast at the Fort Ouiatenon fur-trading post. For ticket prices, visit the Tippecanoe County Historical Association Web site at https://www.tcha.mus.in.us/tickets.htm

• Oct. 12, 6-9 p.m. Matthews Hall, Room 210. The Latino Heritage Month closing ceremonies will coincide with a poetry café sponsored by Delta Pi Rho and Tau Phi Sigma and featuring Puerto Rican-Indian poet Bobby Gonzalez. The closing event, titled "Remembering the Future: Visions and Voices," also will recognize the contributions of organizations and departments that participated in this year's Latino Heritage Month.

Sponsors of this year's events also include the Provost's Office, Office of the President, American Studies, Diversity Resource Office, College of Engineering, Purdue Black Alumni Organization, Purdue Alumni Association, Latino Faculty/Staff Organization, Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex and Chase Bank.

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Additional information for all of these events is available by contacting the Latino Cultural Center at (765) 494-2530, latinocc@purdue.edu, or at the center's Web site. The center is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Latino Cultural Center was established in 2003 as Purdue's first center for Hispanic and Latin culture. The organization is a gathering place where people of similar cultures and backgrounds can come together to share events in the university community.

Writer: Bethany Bannister-Andrews, (765) 494-2073, bbannister@purdue.edu

Source: Maricela Alvarado, (765) 494-2530, alvaradm@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

A publication-quality file photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2006/alvarado-LCCnewdigs.jpg

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