EIU Media Relations

Banquet to Highlight Latino Heritage Celebration at EIU

Latino Heritage Celebration activities at Eastern Illinois University are scheduled for September and October, with a major event, the annual Latino Heritage Banquet, set for Sept. 17.

With its theme “Latino/a Roots: Past, Present and Future,” this year’s celebration lineup includes music and movies, as well as lectures and workshops.

“This is an opportunity for the Latino community to celebrate its heritage and roots,” said Jennifer Sipes, celebration coordinator. “Similarly, it is an opportunity to increase awareness and appreciation of the Latino roots of our nation among the EIU community and central Illinois communities at-large.”

Admission to all events, with the exception of the banquet, is free.

The banquet, which will begin with the dinner at 6 p.m., will feature a performance by Ballet Folklórico Huehuecoyotl, an Elgin, Ill.-based group formed to “promote and share the beauty and culture of Mexico through the art of folkloric dance.” The evening’s activities will close with music and dancing, courtesy of a disc jockey playing Latino tunes.

This year’s menu is comprised of mixed green salad, a burrito bar, picadillo (Cuban meat hash), chicken and cheese enchiladas, habichuelas (Puerto Rican beans), arroz amarillo (yellow rice), boniato puree (sweet mashed potatoes) and flan.

Tickets for the event are $8 for EIU students, $15 for the general public, and must be purchased by Friday, Sept. 8 at the Gateway Office, Blair Hall, Room 2170. (For information, phone 217-581-6692.)

Entertainment, sponsored by EIU’s University Board, a student-programming board responsible for major entertainment events at Eastern, is also being partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Other Latino Heritage Celebration events are scheduled as follows:

• “Motorcycle Diaries” (movie), 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8; 8 and 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9; Buzzard Auditorium.
• Mass in Spanish, 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, Newman Catholic Center.
• “Motorcycle Diaries: Young Che Guevara and Cuban Music” (lecture), presented by Jose Deustua, EIU Dept. of History, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, Effingham Room, MLK Jr. Union.
• “El Grito de Lares: Puerto Rican Independence on the Island and in the U.S.” (lecture), presented by Darrel Enck-Wanzer, EIU Dept. of Communication Studies, 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, Charleston/Mattoon Room, MLK Jr. Union.
• “Femicide on the U.S./Mexico Border: News Coverage of the Disappeared Women of Juarez” (lecture), presented by Angela Aguayo and Suzanne Enck-Wanzer, EIU Dept. of Communication Studies, and Alex Hivoltze-Jimenez, Boston University graduate student, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, Charleston/Mattoon Room.
• “Marriage in Argentina” (movie and presentation), presented by Vanesa Landrus, EIU Dept. of Foreign Languages, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, Charleston/Mattoon Room.
• “Apple Pie and Enchiladas – A Focus on Latino Migration to the Midwest” (guest presentation), presented by Jorge Chapa, director of the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society at the University of Illinois – U/C, 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, Grand Ballroom.
• Diabetes Awareness Workshop, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, Newman Catholic Center.
• “Making Mexican Skeleton Puppets for Día de los Muertos” (hands-on workshop), presented by Kristin Routt, EIU Dept. of Foreign Languages, 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, Martinsville Room, MLK Jr. Union.
• Bilingual Mass, 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, Newman Catholic Center.
• “514: It’s Time For a Change” (discussion regarding Columbus Day), presented by Jason Schultz, EIU history major, and Carlos Amaya, EIU Dept. of Foreign Languages, 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, Charleston/Mattoon Room.
• “Latin American National Pastimes: Soccer vs. Baseball” (lecture), presented by Jim Davis, EIU Dept. of Geology/Geography, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, Physical Science Building, Room 3040.
• Student Essay/Project Presentations, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, Martinsville Room.
• “Beadwork Across Cultures – A Showcase of Latin American, Native American, Caribbean and African Art” (exhibition), Sept. 30 through Jan. 7, Tarble Arts Center.

For up-to-date information on all of these events, plus other public events taking place at Eastern Illinois University, see http://www.eiu.edu/pubaff/calendar.php.