Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
Each year, the U.S. observes National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by recognizing and celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of those in our communities and beyond whose ancestors come from over twenty countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, 18% of the U.S. population is of Hispanic/Latinx descent. Miami University and TIE will be holding Hispanic Heritage month/Latinx Heritage Month events throughout September and October. At Miami, the UniDiversity Festival is a collaborative initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in our community, and it is also a chance to learn more about the valuable contributions of Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean peoples and cultures. Every year the UniDiversity festival is the kick-off to a month of activities at Miami and in Oxford. We encourage all Miamians to engage in dialogue and allyship, including through campus and community organizations such as UNIDOS and ALFAS.
Upcoming Events
For a full list of upcoming events, please visit our University Events calendar page.
Resources
Global Perspectives
Miami University Art Museum's Global Perspectives exhibition, a semi-permanent installation in the Orpha Webster Gallery, features works from Latin America, including Mexico, Central America and South America, with examples from Pre-Columbian cultures. The current installation includes 27 pieces that represent diverse cultural and artistic traditions.
Latin American, Latino/a and Caribbean Studies (LAS)
Latin American, Latino/a and Caribbean Studies (LAS), in the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies, offers a major and minor that explore Latin American and Caribbean cultures, economies, social and political systems, literature, art, music, history, and geography across the hemisphere. Opportunities to study abroad and to engage with Latin American communities in Ohio promote the active application of international knowledge to vital issues in today's changing world.
The LAS program highly values study abroad and study away in all contexts. Each year Miami offers numbers of Summer and/or Winter term workshops in such locations as the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru. LAS students are encouraged to study in programs offered by other universities and organizations.
Association of Latinx Faculty & Staff (ALFAS)
The ALFAS has been formed by Miami University employees (Hamilton, Middletown, and Oxford campuses) to foster Latinx, Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian representation, improve work conditions, and enrich the social and cultural environment for all faculty, staff, and students. Toward that end, the Association has adopted the following goals:
- Increase our visibility and participation in decision-making processes as Latinx employees at Miami University
- Establish collaboration efforts with other constituencies on our campuses
- Aid in the recruitment, retention, and promotion efforts of other qualified Latinx faculty and staff
- Support academic curricula focused on Latinx and Latin American and Caribbean culture and communities
- Aid in the diversity-related efforts set forth by Miami University
- Enhance the sense of community among Latinx employees at Miami University
- Promote the personal and professional development of our Latinx members in Higher Education
- Help prepare ourselves and the university for the dramatic demographic changes of our society, particularly the increase in the Latinx population in the U.S.
- Educate others about the Latinx culture
- Serve as role models and mentors for all Latinx students at Miami University
- Aid in the recruitment and retention of qualified domestic and international Latinx students
- Enhance awareness and acceptance of cultural differences
For more information, visit our website or email us at alfas@MiamiOH.edu.
UNIDOS | Student Organization
Our goal is to create an environment where Latinxs and Hispanics can encourage the unity of diversity at Miami University. Our mission is to promote the understanding and appreciation of diversity on campus through the celebration of Latinx and Hispanic culture. This organization strives to be a sustainable support system that will help each individual with academic, professional and social growth. We’re here to create a family away from home, somewhere we feel we belong. We have a diverse group of students with cultural roots from all over Latin and South America, Spain, and the Caribbean. We envision a more inclusive campus, one donde somos UNIDOS juntos!
Association of Latino and American Students of MUH
The purpose of this organization is to create awareness of the Latina/o and Hispanic cultures, including not only people with Latina/o and Hispanic origins as members. In addition our goal is to promote cross-cultural awareness by engaging with students, faculty, and staff by hosting cultural activities and by serving and engaging with the community as well.
- Latiné Student Alliance (Students)
- ALFAS (Faculty and Staff)
- Society of Hispanic Engineers (Students)
- Latin American Student Organization (Students)
- Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (Students)
- UniDiversity Festival (Everyone)
- Antiracism
- Lib Guide
- Student Counseling Service
- Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion
- Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Regionals)
- PBS Documentaries: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
- StoryCorps: Hispanic Heritage Month Stories
- The PALABRA Archive at the Library of Congress
- National Hispanic Heritage Month: Exhibits and Collections
- DC Latino Street Murals: A Virtual Tour
- Smithsonian: National Museum of the American Latino- Virtual Exhibits and Resources
- Google Arts & Culture: Latino Cultures in the US
Previous Events
Cafe con Cultura
Wednesday, Sept. 7 | 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Upham Hall, University Seal (Outside Upham Hall)
Opening event for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month with community building and information sharing opportunities. At this event academic units, divisional departments, and student organizations will be in attendance to share information and resources related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Undesireables: A Queer History of Latinx Challenges to U.S. Immigration Policy
Thursday, Sept. 15 | 5 p.m. |Shriver Center Heritage Room
Professor Capó is a transnational historian whose research interests include modern U.S. history, especially the United States’s relationship to the Caribbean and Latin America. His first book, Welcome to Fairyland: Queer Miami before 1940 (UNC Press, 2017), has received six awards and honors, including the Charles S. Sydnor Award for the best book written on Southern history. He is the recipient of the Audre Lorde Prize from the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History and the Carlton C. Qualey Award from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society.
Capó’s research extends to his commitment to public history. He curated “Queer Miami: A History of LGBTQ Communities” for History Miami Museum and participated in a National Park Service initiative to promote and identify historic LGBTQ sites.
Sponsored by the Latin American, Latino/a, and Caribbean Studies and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Music y Ritmo: An Exploration of Latinx Music
Wednedsay, Sept. 28 | 12 - 1 p.m. | Armstrong Student Center, 1086
Latin music—from salsa to bachata and reggaeton—has greatly influenced pop music in America, culminating in record-breaking mainstream hits like “Havana” and “Despacito.” But do you know the connection between the various Latin American music and other types of music? We want to celebrate the richness and diversity of Latin American culture by connecting its roots to other music types. Dr. Thomas George Caracas Garcia, ethnomusicologist, guitarist and lutenist at Miami shares about Latin Music and the other forms of music that inform Latin American culture.
Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Annual Latin American and Caribbean UniDiversity Festival
Friday, Sept. 30 |5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Oxford Uptown Parks
HighSt. & Main St., Oxford, OH 45056
The UniDiversity Festival is a collaborative initiativeto promote diversity and inclusion in our community, and it is also a chance to learn more about the valuable contributions of the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean peoples and cultures. Every year the UniDiversity festival is the kick-off of a month full of activities encompassed within the National Hispanic Latino American Heritage Month at Miami University, and Oxford Ohio. This community event is a portal for intercultural connections and civic engagement.
It is sponsored by Global Initiatives’ Center for American and World Cultures; the Barahona Latino Resource Fund/Alpha Psi Lambda; Enjoy Oxford! - Oxford Visitors Bureau; the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Miami University Regionals; Miami Performing Arts Series; Miami University Alumni Association; Silly Safaris, Live Animal Shows; and organized in collaboration with Miami University: Alpha Psi Lambda, Co-ed Fraternity; Association of Latin American Students UNIDOS; Association of Latin American Students, ALAS -MU Regionals; Association of Latinx Faculty and Staff; Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion; Department of Spanish and Portuguese; Latin American, Latino/a and Caribbean Studies, GIC; Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc.; and in partnership with the City of Oxford; Miami University President’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion; NAACP Oxford Chapter; the Ohio Commission on Hispanic Latino Affairs; Oxford Lane Libraries; andOxford Multicultural Family Alliance.
Media Partners:Mujer Latina Today,LLC | University Communications and Marketing, Miami University
Miami Presents: A Taste of Peru
Watch this panel discussion to learn how to make the famous Peruvian Pisco Sour drink as well as a discussion of its cultural significance and history. M. Cristina Alcalde, Miami's new Vice President of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, will also be joining the event. A native of Peru, she will share about herself and her role with the university. Learn more about the UNIDOS student organization.
Sponsored by: The Latin@ Alumni Group
Being Latinx in 21st Century Higher Education
September 15, 12-1pm
Register to join this Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month webinar featuring Miami University faculty and staff as they engage in dialogue around questions such as: "Why is it important to discuss Latinx experiences when we speak of higher ed today?" and “What does Hispanic and Latinx mean to you?"
Watch the Recorded Presentation
Annual Latin American and Caribbean UniDiversity Festival
Friday, September 17, 2021
Oxford Uptown Memorial Parks
High St. & Main St., Oxford, OH 45056
Alternative location in case of severe weather: Hall Auditorium, Miami University Oxford OH 45056
The UniDiversity Festival is a collaborative initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in our community, and it is also a chance to learn more about the valuable contributions of the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean peoples and cultures. Every year the UniDiversity festival is the kick-off of a month full of activities encompassed within the National Hispanic Latino American Heritage Month at Miami University, and Oxford Ohio. This community event is a portal for intercultural connections and civic engagement.
Inspiring Radical Creativity
Empowering Young, Diverse Voices to Tell Their Own Stories
Gabby Rivera
Thursday, September 23, 7 pm–8 pm
In this affecting talk, Rivera unpacks how she navigates the world as a queer, Latinx, millennial woman; how she incorporates her heritage into her writing; how she strives to be a thoughtful ally for others, and how she celebrates the healing power of community. This is a talk about privilege and power, and what we can do to support the ideas of diverse artists working with progressive politics.
The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is proud to host Gabby Rivera as a guest speaker for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month. Rivera is an outgoing, outspoken creator invested in fostering better dialogue, inspiring radical creativity, and improving our most vulnerable communities. The author of Juliet Takes a Breath, she’s also the writer of the Marvel series America—featuring the first queer, Latinx teen-girl superhero, ever. The New York Times, Vogue, and beyond: and Marvel Studios and Disney+ just announced a new show based on the series. A small intimate meet-and-greet will be hosted virtually for a select group of students/student organizations at 8 pm. CSDI, UNIDOS, Spectrum, and Sigma Lambda Gamma are co-sponsoring this programming.
Reclaiming the Streets: Youth and Resistance in Latin America
September 29 4:30-6:0 pm
Latin American Studies faculty-led panel on recent instances of youth resistance and protest in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Colombia.
Presenters
- Juan Carlos Albarrán
- Elena Jackson Albarrán
- José Amador
Miami Alumni Association Presents: The Kissing Bug - A conversation with author Daisy Hernández
October 7, 2021, noon-1pm
Miami professor Daisy Hernández was recently featured on NPR for her book, The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation's Neglect of a Deadly Disease. Join us for a special conversation between Daisy and Miami’s vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion, Cristina Alcalde.
