The Tufts community kicked off Latino Heritage Month yesterday with a catered reception at the Latino Center.
The month-long cultural celebration at Tufts is an offshoot of the national Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.
Tufts students changed the dates to better coincide with the academic calendar, and the name to be more inclusive.
"The word Hispanic is frowned on by many because it was imposed on the community," said senior Vanessa Rojo, the president of Tufts' Association of Latin American Students (ALAS).
"It doesn't include all of Latin America."
Last night's reception featured food and live music, and the Latino Center swelled with students eating and conversing.
Latino Center Director Rub?©n Stern said the target group for the month of programming is Latinos living in the United States.
"Obviously in Latin America you don't need a national heritage month," he said.
Working closely with many partners, such as the Latino studies department and this year the LGBT Center, the Latino Center has plans for numerous cultural events. Food fairs, poetry readings and a dance party will all be included.
According to Stern, the various Latino student organizations on campus, including La Casa and ALAS, are helping to organize the programming, which will seek to increase visibility and cultural understanding.
"I'm always hoping to increase visibility," he said. "I hope people see beyond the superficial [parts] of the culture because it is more than just rice and beans."
Tuesday's opening event was attended by Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg, and Stern said the aim is to reach out to the community as a whole.
"Students don't want the events to be attended by only Latinos," he said.
Upcoming events include a Latino food night tonight in Dewick-MacPhie and a screening next Thursday of "Puedo Hablar?"
The movie is about the 2006 reelection of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and filmmaker Christopher Moore will be on-hand during the event to answer questions.
This year's programming will also feature a talk on Oct. 25 by Juana Mar?a Rodriguez, a gender and women's studies professor at the University of California, Berkeley who will speak about her 2003 book titled "Queer Latinidad."
LGBT Center Dona Yarbrough said the center invites a queer-studies scholar every fall. "I thought of bringing Juana and Rub?©n agreed," she said.
With roughly seven percent of Tufts students identifying themselves as Latino, Stern said the aim of the Latino Center is to advocate for student issues and promote Latino-based curricula.
As such, this month's events will seek to make Latino students feel more comfortable on campus.
"I don't see too many Latinos around, so to get together is great," said freshman Diana Bermudez, who attended yesterday's opening reception. "I feel like I'm at home."
But it also has more expansive goals. "Feeling at home and feeling a sense of community is important," Sternberg said. "But it has to be more than that."
Stern agreed. "We do more than just celebrate diversity," he said. "We deal with issues of diversity as a whole."
