A&M-KINGSVILLE CELEBRATES HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
(KINGSVILLE, Sept. 13, 1996) - Texas A&M University-Kingsville will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with music, dancing, speakers, exhibits, plays, films and a banquet.
Organizer Cecilia Hunter said the month will celebrate many Hispanic cultures, including that of Mexico.
The first event is a dance featuring the group La Diferenzia on Sept. 18 in the Student Union Building that will include a salsa dance contest. The month ends on Oct. 14 with a banquet of dishes from various Hispanic or Latin nations. Hunter said a special speaker is planned and will be announced when confirmation is received.
The first speakers to appear will be Jose Angel Gutierrez, founder of La Raza Unida and now a member of the political science faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington, and Carlos Guerra, a columnist for the San Antonio Express News. At 51, Gutierrez still sparks controversy. UTA's president, Robert Witt, fired him last month as director of the Center for Mexican American Studies, which led to protests by the center's advisory committee and their dismissal. Gutierrez and Guerra will speak at noon on Sept. 25 in the Tejas Room of the Student Union Building. Both are former students ofTexas A&M-Kingsville (then Texas A&I) and will discuss the years of Chicano activism at the university and their results.
Additional speakers include: Ignacio Garcia, now a professor of history at Brigham Young University in Utah; Jose Antonio Blanco, whose book of English and Spanish proverbs, "Oasis," will be published by McGraw-Hill next year; and Manuel Salinas, who recently retired from the A&M-Kingsville College of Education faculty. All are former students. (See the schedule below.)
Two Hispanic comedies by playwright Milcha Sanchez-Scott will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 in the Little Theatre. In "Dog Lady," a young Mexican-American woman who has entered a jogging contest has the support of her entire neighborhood, including that of the Dog Lady, who may be calling on supernatural forces to help her. "Cuban Swimmers" tells the story of Margarita, a young Cuban-American who has entered a swimming contest off the coast of Southern California, and her family. Patrick Faherty of the Department of Communications and Theatre Art will direct.
An exhibit of paintings and drawings by Jesse "El Coyote" Almazan is planned for the Bailey Art Gallery from Oct. 7-25 and "New Spain: The Frontiers of Faith" from the Texas Humanities Resource Center will be shown in the lobby of the Jernigan Library. The latter exhibit opens with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22. Almazan is a major Chicano artist who played a role in the early formulation of ideas expressed through Chicano art, said Art Department Chairman Richard Scherpereel.
Films to be shown include the Colombian film, "Rodrigo D: No Future," on Sept. 24; "Zoot Suit," featuring Edward James Olmos on Oct. 1; and "Los Olvidados" by Luis Bunuel on Oct. 8, which looks at the lives of young people growing up in the slums of Mexico. All will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Biology-Earth Science Building Auditorium. Commentaries on and discussion of the films will be included.
All events except the dance and the banquet are free. Dance tickets cost $5 for students with a university ID and $10 for others. The entrance fee for the dance contest is $5 for students and $10 for others. Tickets to the banquet cost $5 for students with a university ID and $10 for others. They are available in the Student Union Building office, from Sylvia Martinez in Room 101 of the Jernigan Library or from any Marriott cashier in the Student Union Building. No banquet tickets will be sold at the door.
| DATE | EVENT | PLACE | TIME |
| Wednesday, Sept. 18 | Dance, La Diferenzia | SUB Ballroom | 7 p.m. |
| Friday, Sept. 20 | Plays, "Dog Lady" and "Cuban Swimmers" | Little Theatre | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, Sept. 22 | Opening reception for "New Spain" exhibit | Jernigan Library | 2-4 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Sept. 24 | Film: "Rodrigo D: No Future" | BES Auditorium | 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Sept. 25 | Speakers: Jose Angel Gutierrez and Carlos Guerra | SUB, Tejas Room | Noon |
| Wednesday, Sept. 26 | Music??? | ||
| Tuesday, Oct. 1 | Film: "Zoot Suit" | BES Auditorium | 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Oct. 2 | Speaker: Jose Antonio Blanco | Jernigan Library | 10, 11 a.m. |
| Wednesday, Oct. 2 | Speaker: Manuel Salinas | Jernigan Library, | 6:30 p.m. |
| Thursday, Oct. 3 | Music??? | ||
| Oct. 7-25 | Art Exhibit: Jesse "El Coyote" Almazan | Bailey Gallery | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Oct. 8 | Film: "Los Olvidados" | BES Auditorium | 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Oct. 9 | Speaker: Ignacio Garcia | SUB, Tejas Room | Noon |
| Thursday, Oct. 10 | Music?? | ||
| Monday, Oct. 14 | Banquet | SUB, Ballroom | 7-10 p.m. |
-TAMUK-
-Mary Sherwood