Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 marks the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The month is meant to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans and the history, culture and achievements that they’ve made.
Ohio University celebrates and commemorates this month in conjunction with multiple different organizations on campus. Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, director of the Multicultural Center, highlighted that the month is not only about celebration, but also about education.
Monday, Sept. 14, kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with EL 787’s general body meeting over Zoom. Isabella Philippi Cámara, a senior and the president of EL 787, said the meeting pertained to discussing Hurricane Maria and the healing Puerto Rico is experiencing on the three-year anniversary.
Continuing the commemoration, the Latino Student Union hosted festivities throughout the month. Specifically, on Sept. 16, the group hosted an event highlighting the importance of Latino votes in the upcoming election.
Maribel Antunez-Uriostegui, a sophomore studying political science and pre-law, is the president of the Latino Student Union. She and the club hosted an event in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Oct. 12. The day’s main purpose is to celebrate Native Americans and their culture.
“There has been more involvement and more inclusivity with diversity and Latino representation,” Antunez-Uriostegui said. “The Latino Student Union helped me find community.”
The Latino Student Union has helped build a rapport this month beyond Athens through Instagram and other social media platforms.
The National LGBTQ+ Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Program hosted a Zoom call Sept. 28 to celebrate who they are. This event helped people to speak about their experiences and answer questions from members and allies.
Oct. 6 brought Café Duo and Murano Duo, two bands from Ibagué, Colombia, exploring culture through a screen while leaving the viewer with many thoughts.
Javier Ávila presented another one-man show Oct. 9 called “The Perfect Latino.” The show used poetry and comedy to discuss diversity in the U.S.
Toward the end of the month, the Scripps Latinx Network will present a Spanish Conversation Hour that will highlight Spanish communications and media figures on social media.
Philippi Cámara is the social media coordinator for the Scripps Latinx Network and loves how the hour allows people to speak Spanish and practice speaking, which leads them to feel more included.
Philippi Cámara has been seeing a lot more participation from Greek Life as well.
“Greek Life has been posting more on social media about Hispanic Heritage month,” Philippi Cámara said. “The goal of this is to bust myths that Greek Life is more than the stereotype it is made out to be, but instead holds diversity within its community.”
Chunnu-Brayda encourages people to think about the contributions from the Hispanic society while also acknowledging the challenges they still face daily.
“There’s a nuisance that comes with being who you are,” Chunnu-Brayda said. “These matters are socially constructed. As a society, we decide what is right and what is wrong, but it is time that we start correcting each other and holding each other accountable.”
