Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 this year, and the university is celebrating with the theme “Avanzando Juntos: Moving Forward Together.” 

Hispanic Heritage Month acknowledges the cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans throughout history. During the month, several Latin American countries also celebrate their independence days. 

 The theme shines light on the importance of unity and support systems within the community. 

Ilianna Velez, assistant director in the Student Multicultural Center, is active in the committee that plans all of the celebrated heritage months on campus. 

Velez said the committee discussed the potential themes and which options would mean the most to the campus community.  

“Within the Hispanic Latino community there’s a strong emphasis on community, so we thought it was going to be important to really have that translate within this year’s theme, with a heavy emphasis on unity specifically,” Velez said. 

After selecting the theme, the committee worked with the Division of Student Life Signum Design team to create the graphics for it. This process can take several meetings before an effective design is chosen, Velez said. 

“In this case, [the committees have] been planning this for months now, to come together and talk about what this year’s theme for Hispanic Heritage Month would be, what the graphic was going to look like and ultimately what the messaging around it was going to be,” Velez said. “It’s very much a collaborative effort amongst campus partners and students included. 

Campus partners are invited to create programming for the month in relation to the theme of this year and celebrate Latina/o/e/x culture. Any students who wish to host an event are allowed to submit their planned events to the University Events Calendar and tag it with Signature Programs and Hispanic Heritage Month, which will make the event appear alongside the other events on the Student Multicultural Center’s website for this month. 

 The Ohio Latino Affairs Summit was the first event to take place on the first day of the Heritage Month. State and local educators, stakeholders, legislators and students came together in support of the Latino community and discussed issues affecting them. The event’s theme this year was“¡Juntos!: Latino Growth is Ohio Growth,” and was hosted in the Student Center. 

 Velez said that both the summit and the university’s themes combined to reinforce the idea of feeling close and supported within the community.

“We wanted to make sure that we were intentional about partnering with the Summit on the theme to really bring awareness to the importance of being together as a community, but if we’re relating it to the Summit, really relating it to the economy and the overall workforce of the Hispanic Latino community,” Velez said. 

More events are scheduled for the rest of the month, including Salsa Night: Baila con Sabor (Dance with Flavor). The event is hosted by the Student Multicultural Center, the Spanish and Latino Student Association and the Male Empowerment Network and will take place on Sept. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. 

“It’s a free event to learn more about the history of salsa dance and hopefully meet some people in the process,” Velez said. “To me, that is perfectly in line with the theme of bringing everybody together, celebrating the Hispanic Latino Culture, learning from one another, supporting one another and really just uplifting each other.”

Kayla Gleason is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].