The celebration will feature events through Oct. 15 and is organized by Elon's El Centro de Español and focuses on the histories, cultures and contributions of the Hispanic and Latinx communities to the United States.
Elon will kick off its Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations Thursday, Sept. 20, with music, homemade Hispanic food and dancing on the Lakeside Dining Hall terrace outside the Moseley Center.
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 18, the kick-off event was pushed back due to the impact of Hurricane Florence on the campus community, with the university canceling classes for several days and thousands of students leaving campus to weather the storm elsewhere.
Thursday’s event begins at 5 p.m, and is the first in a series of activities throughout the next month related to the celebration of the histories, cultures and contributions of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. The mission of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is organized at Elon by El Centro de Español, is to provide students, faculty, staff and community members the opportunity to experience and become immersed in these cultures. The lineup of events includes cultural discussions, musical performances, religious gatherings and sports contests.
Here’s the full line-up of events for Hispanic Heritage Month and other events related to Latinx/Hispanic culture, with more information available on El Centro’s website:
Thursday, Sept. 20
Hispanic Heritage Month Kick-off Festival
Lakeside Dining Hall terrace outside the Moseley Center
Friday, Sept. 21
IV Hispanic Film Series: “Summer 1993”
LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Business Center, 5:30 p.m.
Carla Simón / Spain / 96 min / 2017 / Catalán with English subtitles
In the summer of 1993, following the death of her parents to AIDS, six-year-old Frida is forced from bustling Barcelona to the Catalan provinces to live with her aunt and uncle, her new legal guardians. Unfortunately, the transition is not easy for Frida. Confronting the adult matters of death and religion through the eyes of a child, Simón captures exactly what it feels like to grow up in an adult world.
Tuesday, Sept. 25
Hispanic College Coffee
Phi Beta Kappa Plaza, 9:40 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 25
Perspectivas Series IV discussion
McKinnon Hall, 5 to 8 p.m.
A series of discussions by faculty, staff, students and alumni will make presentations on issues related to the Latinx/Hispanic community at Elon and beyond. The “Immigration Panel: Past, Present, Future” discussion moderated by Associate Professor Naeemah Clark begins at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 27
Performance by Gina Chavez
McCrary Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Multi-ethnic Latin pop songstress Gina Chavez is a nine-time Austin Music Award winner and her album, “Up.Rooted,” topped both the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts. The performance is part of the Elon University Lyceum Series.
Thursday, Sept. 27
Numen Lumen: A Thursday Inspiration
Numen Lumen Pavilion, 9:50 a.m.
A special Numen Lumen inspiration related to Hispanic Heritage Month.
Tuesday, Oct. 2
Oratorical Contest — Latinx/Hispanic students share their voices
The Oak House, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 3
Latin Night in Soccer: Elon vs. Delaware
Rudd Field, 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 5
IV Hispanic Film Series: “The Future Perfect”
LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Business Center, 5:30 p.m.
Nele Wohlatz / Argentina / 65 min / 2016 / Spanish with English subtitles
Xiaobin is 17 years old and does not speak a single word of Spanish when she arrives in Argentina. But a few days later, she already has a new name, Beatriz, and a job in a Chinese supermarket. Her family lives in a parallel world in a launderette, far removed from the Argentinians. Xiaobin secretly saves money and enrolls at a language school. She tries out in the street what she learns there. After having learned how to “make appointments,” she arranges to meet a supermarket customer, Vijay. He comes from India, and although they can barely communicate with each other, they start a secret romance. And when she practices the conditional, the form of possibility, Xiaobin starts thinking about the future. What would happen if her parents learned about Vijay? The more she masters the Spanish language, the more she interferes in the scenario.’
Friday, Oct. 5
La Habana Night IV
The Tap House, 10 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 8
Latinx/Hispanic Identities: Who am I? discussion
McKinnon Hall, 5:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 15
Theater Corner: EFE Tres Teatro presents “El Merolico”
McKinnon Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 17
Poetry Corner: Eduardo Corral
Johnston Hall, 7 p.m.
Poet Eduardo Corral, winner of the Yale Younger Poetry Award and a faculty member in N.C. State’s MFA Creative Writing program, will read from his alluring, wild poetry. Sponsored by the Department of English.
Thursday, Oct. 25
IV Hispanic Film Series: “Tempest”
LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Business Center, 5:30 p.m.
Tatiana Huezo / Mexico / 105 min / 2016 / Spanish with English subtitles
A poignant doc by celebrated filmmaker Tatiana Huezo, Tempest narrates the parallel journey of two women. Mirror-like, it reflects the impact of the violence and impunity that afflict Mexico. Through their voices, we are drawn into the heart of their feelings, steeped in loss and pain, but also love, dignity, and resistance. On a normal day on her way to work, Miriam is arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. While the government reports that a criminal gang has been rounded up, in reality a group of innocent Mexicans has fallen victim to the vagaries of a corrupt system. After her detention, she is handed over to a private prison controlled by the Organized Crime, where she is forced to pay a monthly fee to remain alive. Adela works as a clown in a traveling circus. Ten years ago, her life was irreversibly transformed; every night during the show, she evokes her missing daughter, Monica.
Saturday, Nov. 3
Hispanic Tailgate, Homecoming
Bank of America Drive, 12:30 p.m.