Latinx Heritage Month
Celebrated annually from Sept. 15-Oct. 15, Latinx Heritage Month pays tribute to the generations of Latinx Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our society. We celebrate and honor the histories, cultures, and contributions of individuals whose heritage came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The start of this celebration dates back to 1968 when Hispanic Heritage Week was introduced in the United States and later extended into a heritage month to honor the various anniversaries of independence for several Latin American countries.
Julissa Calderon, an Afro-Latinx actress, writer, producer, and director from Miami, will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. EST. She plays the role of activist Yessika Flores in the MACRO/Netflix series Gentefied. Calderon is passionate about Afro-Latino representation and challenging Latino stereotypes. Zoom information will be provided soon.
Sponsors include the Office of Intercultural Development, HSL, NIA, ABC, LACSA, QPOC, Student Government, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Religious Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Foreign Languages & Literatures, and Student Involvement.
Latinx/Latino/Latina: Ethnic Labels for Real People
Wednesday, Sept. 23, on Zoom
Meeting ID: 952 8890 7917
Noon-1 p.m. EST
Referring to a group of people based on their ethnic heritage can be difficult. What terms or labels are accurate and acceptable? How and why do these words evolve in response to new contexts and understandings? When do terms slip so out of favor that they become incorrect or even derogatory? In this session, Prof. Brett Hendrickson will facilitate a discussion about several ethnic signifiers used to describe people who trace their ancestry to Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Participants will learn about the pros and cons of several words, including “Hispanic,” “Chicano,” “Boricua,” “Latino/a,” “Latinx,” and “Latine.”
Instagram Takeovers on Independence Days
Sept. 16 and 18 on @lafayetteoid
LHM 2020 committee will get to post historical facts on OID Instagram (@lafayetteoid) and host a live discussion on the observation of the specific independence day.
Wednesday, Sept. 16, Xiomara Capistran ’22
Friday, Sept. 18, Karina Fuentes, assistant director of intercultural development
Cafe con Leche series
Cafe con Leche is where a Latinx individual who has either impacted the community or has overcome several obstacles in life is invited to share their story and/or occupation in the Lehigh Valley. Usually, in-person Cafe con Leche is part of the refreshments with some treats, and we are all together in a comfy setting providing the space for dialogue and acknowledgment of other Latinx at Laf. Since we will be going virtual, we invite the whole Lafayette community to bring their own mug (tecito o cafecito/te or coffee) and take part in the conversation on a Zoom call.
Tuesday, Sept. 22: Jonathan Asayag, one of our newest outreach coordinators in the Counseling Center, will talk along with Raquel Sosa, doctoral trainee.
4 p.m. EST, Zoom Meeting ID: 919 5387 5073
Tuesday, Sept. 29: Karina Skvirsky from the Art Department will share with us.
4:30 p.m., Zoom Meeting ID: 984 8319 6821
Tuesday, Oct. 13: Luis Schettino from the Psychology Department will share about his journey and work.
5 p.m., Zoom Meeting ID: 913 4933 9458
Tuesday, Oct. 20: Ana Luhrs, reference librarian for the Government & Law Department and Skillman Library, and part of our DACA/Undocumented Student Support Team, will speak.
6 p.m., Zoom Meeting ID: 953 1479 0874
More speakers to come later.
Ibero-American Film Festival
Sept. 30-Oct. 28. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST
bit.ly/iberoLAF
The Ibero American Film Festival was made possible through the support of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
The festival is based on the Spanish Film Club, an initiative by PRAGDA, which offers grants twice a year to help high schools and universities bring the best in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cinema to campuses with the aim of introducing students to the language and cultures of these territories.
Latinx Party with DJ Mar
Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. EST live on mixcloud.com/live/DJ-Mar
Join us for a night of live music, shoutouts, and requests of your favorite Latinx artists.
DJ Mar will be mixing it up with your favorite hits and creating a feel-good social distanced study night for you and your peers.
Keynote Speaker Julissa Calderon
Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. EST
Zoom info to be provided soon.
Prof. Daisy Verduzco Reyes
Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 4:30 p.m. EST
Meeting ID: 990 0927 2579
Daisy Verduzco Reyes is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at University of California Merced. In her research, she is primarily interested in how race and ethnicity are constructed and mobilized within institutions, with particular focus on sites critical for social mobility, like colleges and universities. She is the author of Learning to Be Latino: How Colleges Shape Identity Politics. Her newest project examines the mobility trajectories of college-educated Latinx millennials with specific attention to their financial experiences and familial arrangements.
Reyes is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college graduate. She grew up on the east side of the San Fernando Valley. She holds degrees from University of California Santa Barbara (B.A. 2005) and University of California Irvine (M.A. 2007, Ph.D. 2012).