Despite the rainy weather, students managed to find sunshine during Fiesta Friday in the SUB Barfield Drawing Room. Students gathered to celebrate the legacy of Hispanic culture in a celebration that included food, music, dancing, balloons and face painting.
Browsing: Hispanic culture
Nationally observed from Sep. 15 to Oct. 15, Baylor’s adoption of Hispanic Heritage Month aims to highlight multicultural student organizations celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of Hispanic and LatinX communities. Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with independence anniversaries of several Latin American countries throughout the two months and hopes to foster more meaningful dialogue through various initiatives.
Nearly 35% of Waco’s residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, a demographic that comes to light during the Christmas season when families prepare festive food, drinks and decor.
The festival will run from 4-10 p.m. on Saturday at Indian Spring Park. This year’s event will debut a bright, multicolored “alebrije” theme, said Julie Cervantes, Parade Director for Dia de los Muertos and Director of Strategic Development at Creative Waco. Cervantes said she expects attendees to go all out with the theme through their costumes and parade floats this year.
Families filled the Mayborn Museum on Saturday afternoon and for the fourth year in a row, hosted the Community Offering or “Ofrenda” in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, featuring an array of artwork, activities and performances.
Urban renewal has since demolished many homes and buildings in Calle Dos and Sandtown, another Hispanic neighborhood, but the inaugural Hispanic History Month Walking Tour aimed to bring them back through storytelling.
This week, Multicultural Affairs partnered up with organizations like the Hispanic Student Association (HSA), the Latin Dance Society and Better Together to host. A monthly Neighbor Nights event that highlights different cultures and creates a space for students from diverse cultural backgrounds and Christian faiths to come together.
Although the holiday is normally celebrated for two days, Rocio Ramirez Landoll said that she wanted to create a grand ofrenda and celebration that lasts an extra few days so that the community could have more opportunities to come see it.
With Halloween right around the corner, other holidays that occur during this season are not often in the spotlight. The day after Halloween marks the celebration of one of these holidays — Dia de los Muertos.
Four years ago, Baylor’s Mariachi ensemble was formed. Fast-forward to today, and this year, all the founding members will be graduating.
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers began an official Baylor chapter in May and is now working to create a community for Hispanic engineers at Baylor.
“The hope was to bring people together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, but also for students to know that the Latinx Faculty and Staff Association is here to support them as they are navigating their way through college,” Diaz-Espinoza said.
If anyone walked by the Bill Daniel Student Center Wednesday evening and smelled dumplings or felt the drums in their chest, it was just a taste of the cultural celebration taking place inside.
With Hispanic Heritage Month approaching, the Department of Multicultural Affairs assists students in learning more about the many cultures represented on Baylor’s campus while providing a space for productive dialogue.
Landin said anyone and everyone is welcomed to come and stop by and learn more about the countries, “knickknacks” will also be provided for attendees to take with them and a visual aid of things that come from each country.
