BY JONATHAN EMONT

In print | September 18, 2008

Latino Heritage Month, America’s annual celebration of Hispanic culture, is in full swing on the Swarthmore campus. Sponsored by the Intercultural Center and ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education), and with funding from many quarters here on campus, the Latino-focused events of the month are designed to showcase the varied and vibrant cultures of the people of Latin America, and to celebrate Latinos’ achievements in American society.

The month began on September 11th, and seven days in there have already been a number of events on campus, with many more planned for the rest of the month. This coming week alone will feature a performance by Raquel Riviera, the hip-hop singer cum professor, the celebrating of an ENLACE-sponsored barbeque, and a movie screening of “Machuca” in the Lang Performing Arts Center.

Planned for later on in the month are two more movie nights, with showings of “My American Girls” and “XXY.” There will also be a political panel on the impact of Latinos in the upcoming election, and a performance by Ilu Aye, a Puerto Rican band with roots in Latin American and African percussion.
Co-president of ENLACE Deivid Rojas ’11 said, “Our goal is that this year’s celebration will be interesting for a broader range of people.” He said the diverse nature of the events on campus will signal to people that there “is more to being Latino than throwing dances.”

This underscores the dual nature of the event, which, it is hoped by ENLACE members, will both broadcast Latino culture to the campus at large as well as provide an opportunity for students of Latino origin to bond over their shared heritages.

Raymond Zuniga, also co-president of ENLACE, said that these events, as well as the organizations that sponsor them, provide support for Latino students. “Especially those from New York City, demographics are a lot different than back home,” Zuniga said. It was for this reason that the Latino-oriented Tri-Co formal, “La Gala,” will be thrown. Representing the climax of the month, the formal will be attended by Latino students from all three schools, with an after-party open to all students.
Formal celebration will conclude on October 9, with an ENLACE-sponsored potluck dinner. The potluck dinner will be an open meeting, and everyone who participates in the month is invited to attend.
One of the most anticipated events of the month occurred this last Monday. Vicky Ruiz, Professor of History and Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine, spoke to a packed audience about the need to “Re-imagine United States History with Latinos as central actors,” discussing the comparatively low rates of Latino-Americans with college degrees.
Rafael Zapata, Assistant Dean and Director of the Intercultural Center, hoped that this month would help demonstrate the “considerable diversity within the Latino community in the United States.” He stressed, however, that the ongoing celebration, while a great way to “kick-off the year,” should not mark the peak of Latino presence on campus, but should, instead “set the tone.”

This is the third year that the college has made a concerted effort to organize events around this month. The sponsors focused this year on providing a variety of different events and discussing the impact of Latinos in America from both a cultural and political perspective.

The upcoming political panel is set to discuss Latino-Americans’ growing power in Already having taken place this month is a Latino faculty-student luncheon, a performance by the musical group Yerbabuena, and a panel on reproductive justice.

Much of the organization for this event comes courtesy of the Intercultural Center’s intern, Luis Rodriguez. Responsible for inviting guests and coordinating events, Rodriguez has been working to raise money from a number of funds on campus, including, but hardly limited to, the President’s Office and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. On raising the $9000, he said, “We’ve pretty much hit that goal. It’s going to be a great month; things are well-organized. We’re really excited for the campus.”

Additional funding for the month comes from the campus’ History, Latin American Studies, Gender and Sexuality, and Sociology and Anthropology Departments, as well as from the Forum for Free Speech.

“So far things have been going great,” Zuniga said.

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