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news
Latinos celebrate
heritage
By Alisha Gomez
On-line Forty-Niner
In honor of Latin
Heritage month Cal State Long Beach's chapter of La Raza will
be hosting various events on campus in cooperation with other
campus organizations.
The weeks of Latin
Heritage month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, are designated to celebrate
Mexico and other South American countries' independence from
Spanish rule.
La Raza had originally
planned to hold the events the week of Sept. 15, said Jorge
Reyes, president of La Raza.
"We decided
to postpone our planned activities because of the tragedy
that happened," he said.
On Wednesday, La
Raza in conjunction with the American Indian Student Council
hosted an event on the Southwest Terrace in honor of Mexico.
Small aspects of the Mexican culture were highlighted. A live
mariachi band played music and carne asada was sold to everyone.
"We are trying
to educate people about the different Latin cultures,"
Reyes said.
On Oct. 4, La Raza
and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will host
Peruvian dancers and provide free food from 10:00 a.m. until
about 2 p.m.
The dancers will
perform from noon to 1 p.m.
On Oct. 10, La
Raza and the Chicano Latino Student Organization will highlight
El Salvador. There will be a live band and pupusas, a traditional
mix of a quesadilla and gordita.
La Raza will finish
its tribute to Latin Heritage month on Oct. 16, in coalition
with the Chicano Latino studies department. Puerto Rico will
be the honored country. Activities for this event are still
being decided.
"Each year,
we have done different countries," said EfrenValdovinos,
vice-president for La Raza. "Last year we did Cuba, and
we have done El Salvador before. In Southern California, there
are a good majority of Mexicans here so we usually highlight
Mexico and rotate other Latin American countries."
Valdovinos said
that he thinks many people have heard of Latin Heritage month,
but do not know very much about the different Latin cultures.
"The point
of our organization is to educate ourselves and other people,"
Valdovinos said.
He said that La
Raza will pass out leaflets and flyers at each event to give
insight to the different Latin heritages.
For other events
going on in the community, check out www.latinola.com.
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