Annual Opening Ceremonies Event Celebrates Latino Heritage Month at Rutgers
The Rutgers Latino Student Council hosted its annual Opening Ceremonies event to celebrate Latino Heritage Month on Nov. 4 at Douglas Campus Center.
According to the Center for Latino Arts and Culture website, Latino Heritage Month was established in 1990, to bring “recognition to the diverse histories, cultural traditions, and social and political experiences of U.S. populations originating from countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Carlos Fernandez, director of the Center for Latino Arts and Culture, said that there are around 20 Latino organizations at Rutgers with more than 6,800 Latino students involved in New Brunswick, Camden and Newark and that this celebration has been held for 25 years.
“With 25 years, this event has become a tradition. It not only attracts students and organizations from Mexico or Caribbean countries, but also students from various Latino immigrant communities. The idea is having the opportunity to recognize the contributions made by these students,” Fernandez said.
This year, the celebration was not only centered on Latino Heritage Month, but also on Native American Heritage Month.
In this sense, Fernandez said that the Native American Cultural Association collaborated with the Latino Student Council to organize this event in order to draw attention to the common struggle of students who do not have enough resources to attend college.
“Many of our Latino students are the first generation to come to college. They come from low-income households, and the same goes for students of indigenous origins. Therefore, this is a common fight to seek and obtain support and create a community big enough that allows them to sustain,” he said.
During the event, participants enjoyed a variety of activities. There was a video presentation about the experiences of Latino and Native American students at Rutgers and a colorful Aztec dance performance by the Calpulli Huehuetlatolli dance troupe.
In addition to that, Professor Liliana Sanchez, chair of the Rutgers Department of Spanish and Portuguese, gave a talk to explain the importance of preserving native languages and the benefits of bilingualism for Latinos and Native Americans.
“Bilingualism is our cognitive advantage. If we don’t use our Spanish or whatever heritage language is, due to prejudice, we lose our ability to be more flexible, to have more attention focus. This is also part of our identity,” Sanchez said.
Monica Torres, a School of Arts and Sciences student and Ronald E. McNair scholar, gave a speech with a dissenting narrative in reference to diversity issues at Rutgers.
“What I wanted to get out was the fact that we have a lot of history around us that go unacknowledged, so what are the ways in which we can have them acknowledged and be proud of our achievements,” said Torres, who is also part of the Native American Cultural Association.
