UI Celebration Highlights Hispanic Heritage
Monday, September 13 2004
Sept. 13, 2004 MOSCOW – Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off at the University of Idaho Thursday, Sept. 16, with a "Fiestas Patrias" celebration in front of the Commons. The event, free and open to the public, begins at 11:30 a.m. with live music, crafts, games, piñatas and folklorico dancing by Sabor de la Raza. It is presented by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and supported through the ad-hoc Presidential Campuswide Diversity Programming Group. UI's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month also features Carlos Muñoz, Jr. speaking Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building Ballroom. The lecture, "Chicano Identity in the 21st Century: Current Struggles, Political Responsibility and Imminent Opportunities," also is free and open to the public. Muñoz is the founding chair of the first Mexican American Studies department in the nation at California State University – Los Angeles. He also is the founding chair of the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies. His book, "Youth, Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement," won the Gustavus Myers Book Award and was a primary source in the 1996 PBS series, "Chicano: The History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement." Other Hispanic Heritage Month events, include: ·Sept. 20, Film, "Chicano! Fighting for Political Power," 6:30 p.m., SUB Gold Room. ·Sept. 27, Lecture, "Sowing the Seeds of Purpose: Student Action and Organization," by UI students Sam Lopez, Lorena Mendez and Joel Gongora, 6:30 p.m., SUB Gold Room. ·Oct. 4, Film, "Mayas, Aztecs and Incas," and a follow-up lecture by Francisco Salinas, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. in the SUB Gold Room. ·On Oct. 11, members of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) will urge Latinos to head to the voting booths on Election Day. This call-to-action event takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the SUB Gold Room. MEChA is a politically active group at UI. ·Oct. 12, Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race) celebration/game night, 7 p.m., Living Learning Center White Pine Room. Dia de la Raza is the celebration of Hispanic heritage, and includes all the ethnic and cultural influences of Latin America. Dia de la Raza is observed throughout most of Mexico and Latin America. The monthlong series at UI is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the ad-hoc Presidential Campuswide Diversity Programming Group, College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), College Assistance Migrant Program Organization of Students (CAMPOS), MEChA, The Organizacion de Estudiantes Latino Americanos (OELA), Gamma Alpha Omega, Iota Psi Phi, Sigma Lambda Beta, the Interested Ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha and Sabor de la Raza. Contact: Leathia Botello, Office of Multicultural Affairs, (208) 885-7716, leathiab@uidaho.edu or Leslie Einhaus, University Communications, (208) 885-6489, lesliee@uidaho.edu -30- LE-9/13/04-STP
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