The University of Richmond Office of Multicultural Affairs felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while planning the events for Latinx Heritage Month.
“We had to get creative,” Morgan Russell, associate director of multicultural affairs, said. “As soon as we heard that we could have things outside, the students started thinking outside the box for festivals and dance classes. So when we were told that we could not, the campus switched gears completely.”
Most of the events for the month were virtual.
The theme for this year’s celebration was “Colores: Culture not defined by skin.” Esmeralda Castillo, a junior and member of the planning committee, said the students in charge of planning the events discussed what the theme and slogan would be before organizing any events.
“We wanted to highlight the many aspects like food, music, dance styles — so many parts of the culture that you can appreciate and claim that aren’t related to skin color,” Castillo said. “We wanted to touch on the fact that you don’t have to be any specific shade of skin in order to say that you’re Latinx or Hispanic, and so trying to get that across in a few words was really difficult.”
Latinx Heritage Month celebrations began Sept. 15 with a kick-off dinner served at both the Heilman Dining Center and Alice Haynes Room.
“The students created an amazing menu,” Russell said. “The D-hall staff is great. All we had to do was give them a list and the executive chef could figure out how to make the food as authentic as possible, especially when it comes to any type of ethnic dishes.”
Even though there were some complications, such as the limited capacity of the dining hall because of COVID-19 guidelines, the opening event for the month-long celebration was a success, Russell said.
“For me, the kick-off dinner was the highlight," Sofia Ringvald, a sophomore member of the planning committee, wrote in an email to The Collegian. “Listening to Latinx music, eating delicious food that my mom makes, and seeing all the decorations warmed my heart."
Signs were posted outside the dining hall that provided information about renowned Latino figures such as Frida Kahlo, Cesar Chavez and Ellen Ochoa.
Throughout the month, students could also sign up to pick up materials for arts and crafts on the third floor of Tyler Haynes Commons. The materials that students could pick up included embroidery kits, wooden picture frames, paint, beads and yarn.
Castillo was one of the students in charge of organizing the arts and crafts event and said it was difficult to figure out how to deliver the materials safely to students.
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“There was a two-hour window to pick up the crafts then do it on your own," Castillo said. "If we weren’t dealing with the pandemic, everyone would have just showed up and we would have different tables to do the crafts altogether."
Additional events, such as an International Film Series from Sept. 20 to 27, featured a virtual screening of The Infiltrators, a docu-thriller about the true story of immigrants who get arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents. A virtual panel discussion about the film occurred on Sept. 24.
On Oct. 4, there was a student panel called “Understanding and Claiming Latinx Identity."
“I’ve heard so many people talk about the issue of not feeling Latinx enough or people criticizing them for not speaking Spanish or having an immigrant family and so their sole identity was a sensitive topic," Castillo said. "I felt like we needed to have a space for this."
On Oct. 9, the Solidarity Organization for Latinx Students, WC, Office of Multicultural Affairs and department of Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies co-hosted a Café con Leche (Loteria) event, during which students could win prizes and meet other self-identified Latino students and faculty.
Jonathan Rosa, a professor at Stanford University, was invited to present at the webinar "Unsettling Identidad: Latinx Languages and Identities Beyond Borders," which took place Oct.14. During the webinar, he talked about the research he conducted at NorthWest, a predominantly Hispanic high school in Chicago.
The event had an impact on first-year attendee Alannys Soto, Soto said.
“The talk gave me more knowledge about Latinx culture in big cities, and it also showed me how important it is for us, Latinx people, to embrace bilingualism,” Soto said.
On Oct. 16, students had the chance to participate in the Connecting Womxn of Color Conference. The theme for this year’s conference was "Care!: Sustainable Activism and Advocacy.” The speakers invited for this event were Kalia Harris, KyungSun Lee and Ashley Williams, who led a meditation session and workshops on activism, sustainability and mindfulness.
Although Latinx Heritage Month ended on Oct. 15, the committee hopes to have in-person events in the spring to continue celebrating Latinx heritage.
“We have a couple of events planned for the spring semester, all depending on COVID[-19] restrictions,” Ringvald wrote.
The committee of students in charge of planning the events is already thinking about in-person events that could happen next semester, such as an award ceremony, karaoke nights and volunteering opportunities.
Contact feature writer Nicole Llacza at nicole.llaczamorazzani@richmond.edu.
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