CSU-Pueblo celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month through Oct.

PUEBLO – Colorado State University-Pueblo will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from    Sept. 12 to Nov. 2, with an assortment of activities, including films, a book festival, a re-enactment, and creative activities and speakers. The month’s activities will be sponsored by CSU-Pueblo’s Associated Students’ Government, University Library, College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), Chicano Studies Department, Spanish Department, Nu Alpha Kappa, Latino Student Union/LULAC, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Department of Residential Life, Student Engagement and Leadership, Alpha Psi Lambda Jaguars, Black Student Union, Colorado International Students Association.

The activities kick off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 in Life Sciences Auditorium with a showing of the Pueblo Bikers United documentary that was shot during the 2000 Rocky Mountain Thunder Rally and documents the ‘infamous’ “Biker vs Cop” football game and Pueblo Bikers United’s  (PBU) longtime dedication to children in need. Founded in 1978, PBU is a non-profit organization that hosts the annual Toy Bowl and Toy Run. PBU’s sole purpose is to provide toys to Pueblo children who may not receive a gift at Christmas.   The event will include a reception at 6 p.m. with light refreshments.  Admission to the event is free, but toys will be gratefully accepted for the PBU Christmas toy drive.  

From noon-2 p.m. on Sept. 15, the Latino Student Union will sponsor an El Grito reenactment to commemorate the independence of Mexico and other Latin American countries that occurs on September 16. 

A piñata workshop where you can decorate your own mini piñata will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Sept. 16 on the OUC patio. 

The second Annual  Latin@ Book Festival is a festival to promote literacy, writing and publishing; to stimulate growth among Latino(a) writers and readers; and to create exposure to Latino(a) authors. CSU-Pueblo and the Southern Colorado Reading Series will feature author Denise Chavez for a reading at 1 p.m. on Sept. 18 in LARC 109 and Rigoberto Gonzalez at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29 in LARC 109. 

On Sept. 23, the DRC invites students, staff, and community members to bring a dish from any part of Latin America and display its history and the ingredients you used. Entrees will be judged to determine three winners.  

A screening of Black in Latin America will be shown from noon-2 p.m. on Sept. 30 in the Office of Diversity & Inclusion OUC003.  Black in Latin America is an award-winning, four-part PBS series on the African influence on Latin America. Produced by renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the series celebrates the massive influence of millions of people of African descent on the history and culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, and considers why and how their contribution is often forgotten or ignored.

Dr. Alegria Ribadeneira, associate professor of English and Foreign Languages,  will discuss the history, research, and usage of the ever evolving language of Spanglish that results from the melding of Spanish and English at 11 a.m. on Oct. 1 in Psychology 217. 

The CSU Pueblo "Hispanic Cultural Experience" web magazine, now on its ninth year will premiere. The magazine will accept poetry, short stories, or essays that translate the diversity of the “Hispanic Cultural Experience” through the end of the year for the next issue. Submissions, which should be no longer than 1,800 words, are due by December 15, 2015. Selected pieces will be published on our magazine website. Submissions are accepted in English, Spanish and Spanglish. Participants are asked to include their name or pen name, and a short biography. Submissions should be sent via e-mail to: hispanicexperience@csupueblo.edu

The film,  “Bajo la Misma Luna,” will be shown at 5 p.m. on Oct. 5 in the DRC, OUC003. The film tells the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico. Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite. Along the way, mother and son face challenges and obstacles but never lose hope that they will one day be together again.

DNA expert Angel Cervantes will explain a project that will cover the colonial expeditions of New Mexico by the Spanish in 1598 and 1693, by the Mexicans in 1821, and by the Americans in 1848. The New Mexico DNA Project will encompass not only Hispanics, but also Anglo-Americans who have come to New Mexico. Cervantes’ presentation will be hosted by the Fray Angelico Chavez Chapter of GSHA and the  Chicano Studies Department beginning  at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 in LARC 109. 

A night of poetry by Latin American writers will be the focus of Latino Voices on Oct. 15 in the Veterans Resource Center, OUC 035.  Café Cultura from Denver will be in attendance and participants are encouraged to bring English or Spanish poems to recite or have others present. 

Participants can build sugar skulls from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the Crestone Residence Hall while learning more about this tradition. On Nov. 2, those who made skulls will have them returned so they can decorate them for Dia de los Muertos Altars. Altars honoring departed loved ones, friends, or celebrities will be displayed in the Occhiato University Center Great Hall from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. concluding with a brief ceremony. 

In addition to these events, the Department of English and Foreign Languages will host Hispanic Heritage Month Movie Nights every Tuesday in September and October beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Psychology 147. 

• September 15 - Entre Nos - Between Us  (2009)
• September 22 - Either "Sugar" (2008) or "America" 
• September 29- The Other Side of Immigration (2007)
• October 6 - Flores de otro mundo
• October 13 - Un Franco 14 Pesetas
• October 20 - Rabia

For more information, contact Jennifer DeLuna, director of diversity and inclusion, at Jennifer.deluna@csupueblo.edu or 719.549.2658.