'This is our past. This is our present. This is our future'
CMU celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Regina Araujo-Pedroza, president of Ballet Folklorico de la Luz, performs at the Ballet Folklorico Performance Wednesday, Sept. 27 in Townsend Kiva Theatre. The club was established in the spring of 2020.
Hispanic Heritage Month is underway, and Central Michigan University will be holding several events to honor and celebrate the cultures and history of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Spain.
The month-long celebration began on Sept. 15, the same day as Independence Day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and ends on Oct. 15.
CMU Professor Alejandra Rengifo was raised in Cali, Colombia, and specializes in Caribbean, Colombian and Latino literature and culture. She said that most Latin American countries are connected by their conquest for independence.
“Most of us had dictators,” said Rengifo. “Most of us have had civil wars or civil conflicts. Most of us have had a commonality of the Spanish having been the conquerors and colonizers of our land. So we have that brotherhood and sisterhood.
"This is our past. This is our present. This is our future.”
Former California Congressman George E. Brown proposed the holiday in June of 1968 to recognize the contributions of the Hispanic (from countries that primarily speak Spanish) and Latine (from countries in Latin America) leaders and communities.
Just months later, on Sept. 17, President Lydon B. Johnson recognized the holiday as National Hispanic Heritage Week in a proclamation. The celebration was expanded to a month-long holiday by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
“It celebrates our cultural heritage,” Rengifo said. “It celebrates our language.”
President of the Empowered Latino Union (ELU) Itzel Neri said that Hispanic Heritage Month is not only a time to celebrate her family’s heritage but also an opportunity to teach others more about Hispanic and Latine culture and history.
“That’s something that I like about Hispanic Heritage Month,” Neri said. “It’s something that I can share with other people … even if it’s people that are not Hispanic or Latinos, they get some insiders (perspective) on our traditions, our culture and just things that we hold dear to our heart.”
ELU is collaborating with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) to hold a “Welcome Back Carne Asada” from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday in the NIRSA Room at the Student Activities Center (SAC). She said she is excited to collaborate with SHPE and help CMU celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
“We are going to have tacos, rice, we’re trying to do some desserts,” Neri said. “We try to make it fun because it’s the first heritage month (of the academic year) and a lot of people don’t know each other. So it just creates good vibes around campus."
Rengifo said it’s a great way to start the fall semester.
“It opens the academic year for a lot of universities and schools,” Rengifo said. “So we are lucky in that sense, because we open up all the months that celebrate different ethnicities.”
Other organizations -- such as Sigma Lambda Gamma, CMU Latine Alumni Chapter and Multicultural Academic Student Services -- will be holding events throughout the month to honor and celebrate Hispanic and Latine culture and history.
More Information on these events can be found on Engage Central.
