Originally published September 5, 2014
By Lisa Y. Garibay
UTEP News Service
UTEP academics, administrators and students have been sponsoring activities focusing on the richness of Hispanic culture, locally and nationwide, for decades. Officially, it all began with a national weeklong observance in the 1960s and grew into a two-week commemoration that eventually became the annual Hispanic Heritage Month, spanning September 15 through October 15.
Well-known cartoonist and political satirist Lalo Alcaraz will visit UTEP as part of its 2014 Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which includes activities through September and October. Photo courtesy of Lalo Alcaraz.
The University’s Hispanic Heritage celebration now encompasses two-and-a-half months, running from late August through early November. In doing so, it takes into account the anniversary of the death of UTEP alumnus, trailblazing journalist and Chicano rights activist Rubén Salazar (August 29) and Día de los Muertos (November 1). Given UTEP’s milestone birthday in 2014, there is even more to emphasize this year.
“Due to UTEP’s Centennial Celebration, our location and our demographic profile, the activities sponsored by the Mexican Consulate on September 10 constitute this year’s most important events for Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Dennis Bixler-Márquez, Ph.D., director of Chicano Studies at UTEP.
One key event is The Becas de Aztlan exhibit and lecture by Jesús Cantú Medel at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts. It will describe a program that, courtesy of the Mexican Government during the 1960s and 70s, sent Chicanos to Mexico in pursuit of graduate and postgraduate education that was inaccessible to them in the United States. UTEP graduates benefitted from this program, including María Socorro Tabuenca, Ph.D., UTEP’s chair of the Department of Languages and Linguistics.
UTEP’s annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration is an important means of affirming and disseminating the predominant culture of the region and a great avenue for students and the community to explore various dimensions of the U.S.-Mexico Border experience.
“As the University celebrates its 100th anniversary, the multicultural celebration enables students and alumni to take stock of how the El Paso-Juárez community is well served and its horizons broadened by the University’s presence and continued growth,” Bixler-Márquez said.
Informative activities for the month begin with a free public presentation tying together academic study, global politics and local business. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 in UTEP’s Blumberg Auditorium, Professor of Political Science and Endowed Professor for Western Hemispheric Trade Policy Studies Kathleen Staudt, Ph.D., will discuss how people talk about border studies in different world regions. She and UTEP graduate student Pamela Cruz will then discuss their research on business people, their organizations, and local political officials dealing with trade and security priorities at the U.S.-Mexico border, with reactions by El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Cindy Ramos-Davidson and UTEP Professor of Political Science Tony Kruszewski, Ph.D. Lastly, Staudt will introduce the new partnership developing between UTEP and the European University Viadrina in the German-Poland border area.
Other presentations will examine the prevention of violence on the border, historical books contained within the UTEP Library’s Special Collections Department, theater and dance performances, new art exhibits, workshops on airbrushing and literature, and much more.
Noted cartoonist and political satirist Lalo Alcaraz will pay a visit to the UTEP campus Thursday, Sept. 25. Given the popularity of Alcaraz’s commentary on race and class relations in the U.S., his appearance will no doubt draw a large crowd from both the University community and the public at large.
Always popular is the annual El Grito Ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 15 in UTEP’s Union Plaza. Commemorating the declaration of Mexican independence, the event is sponsored by the Consulado General de México, the Division of Student Affairs, Union Services, the Office International Programs, the Student Engagement and Leadership Center, the Student Government Association, Languages and Linguistics, and the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies.
Recognizing those leaders who have passed, UTEP’s Hispanic Heritage Month is dedicated in memoriam to Henry J. Casso, D.Ed., founder of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; artist Mario Colín; Johnny Estrada, community advocate for El Paso’s Segundo Barrio; Yolanda Ingle, Ph.D., former assistant vice president for Alumni and University Relations; local physician and social justice advocate Joe Mendoza, M.D.; Royal Chicano Air Force co-founder and arts activist José Montoya; Julius Rivera, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Anthropology; and Santiago L. Rodríguez, former associate provost and dean of the El Paso Community College Mission del Paso campus.
See below for a more complete listing of Hispanic Heritage Month Events.
HISTORY, CULTURE AND TRADITION
Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. “UTEP’s Grito Ceremony:” Commemoration of the Declaration of Mexican Independence. UTEP Union Plaza, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5711
Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. Telecast: “Seminario Binacional Diversidad sin Violencia.” With presenters from the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional–Plantel de Cd. Juárez, the Secretaría de Educación Pública – Cd. Juárez, The University of Texas at El Paso and The University of Texas at Austin. College of Health Sciences and School of Nursing Building, room 212, 9 a.m.
Contact: 915-747-5462.
Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. Religion and Culture Fair: “4th Annual International Day of Peace Celebration.” Union Breezeway, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5519
Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014. Presentation: “An Afternoon with Lalo Alcaraz.” Tomás Rivera Conference Center, Union Building East, room 308, noon.
Contact: 915-747-5462
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. Presentation: “Lynching & Mob Violence Against Mexicans in the American Southwest, 1848-1928.” By William Carrigan, Ph.D., chair and professor, History Department, Rowan University. Blumberg Auditorium, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5508
Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. Presentation by William Carrigan, Ph.D., for graduate students, Liberal Arts Building, room 323, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5508
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014. Presentation: “Merienda Saludable.” Consulado General de México, 910 E. San Antonio Ave., 9 a.m. – noon.
Contact: 915-533-8555 ext. 221 or 277 or 915-747-7004
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. Documentary: Gitanos Camino al Flamenco. A portrayal of Gypsy culture through Flamenco dance. The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for Visual Arts, 6 – 8 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-7042
Oct. 15, 2014. Presentation: “Resilience and Culture among Mexican Refugees.” By Silvia Chávez Baray, Ph.D., and Mark Lusk, Ed.D. Health Sciences and Nursing Buildling, second floor, room 211, noon – 12:50 p.m.
Contact: mwlusk@utep.edu
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014. Cultural performance “Atardecer Mexicano: Celebración Cultural, Artística y Musical.” Health Sciences and Nursing Building foyer, 2nd floor, 1 – 3 p.m.
Contact: emmoya@utep.edu
Oct. 31 – Nov. 8, 2014. “Día de los Muertos Altar.” University Library, third floor, regular library hours.
Contact: 915-747-5697.
ART & EXHIBITS:
Jun. 9 – Sept. 27, 2014. Exhibit: “Ignite: The Artistic and Educational Heritage of Gaspar Enríquez.” The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, gallery hours: Monday – Wednesday, Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-6151
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. Lecture: “Alejandro Almanza Pereda: Artist Talk.” The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Auditorium, noon.
Contact: 915-747-6151
Sept. 1 – 30, 2014. Art and Book Exhibit: “Chicano Art: Mirror of Culture.” Featuring UTEP art graduates, former students and El Paso artists. University Library, Sixth Floor, regular library hours.
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, Reception & Presentation: “Artists from El Paso.” By UTEP librarian Juan Sandoval. 5 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5697
Sept. 1 – Oct. 3, 2014. Exhibit: “José Cisneros and the 1951 TWC Flowsheet.” University Library, fourth floor, regular library hours.
Contact: 915-747-5697
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Workshop: “Gaspar Enríquez Airbrushing Workshop.” At the Fox Fine Arts Center, (Third floor), 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Space is limited, registration required, call 915-747-5161 to register. This workshop is in conjunction with the exhibition Ignite: The Artistic and Educational Heritage of Gaspar Enríquez.
Contact: 915-747-6151
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Opening reception for exhibits: “Alejandro Almanza Pereda: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder” and “INDEX: Archiving the Edges of Violence.” Gallery talk by Alejandro Almanza Pereda, the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, 5 – 7:30 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-6151
October 9 – December 19, 2014. Exhibit: “Alejandro Almanza Pereda: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder.” The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, gallery hours: Monday – Wednesday, Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-6151
October 9 – Dec. 19, 2014. Exhibit: “INDEX: Archiving the Edges of Violence with Artists Roberto Cárdenas, Gina Arizpe Garza, Olga Guerra and Mariana Maese.” The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, gallery hours: Monday – Wednesday, Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-6151.
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014. Lecture: “Fausto Fernández on Risks, Rewards and the Artist’s Integrity.” The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center Auditorium, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-6151.
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2014. Exhibit & Presentation: “The Becas Para Aztlán Scholarship Program: Exhibit and Memoirs from the Private Collection of Jesús Cantú Medel, Recipient.” The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for Visual Arts, 6 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5462 or 915-747-6151
LITERATURE, DANCE, FILM, MUSIC AND THEATRE
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014. Film Discussion: ¿Es El Chapo? Film director Charlie Minn will discuss his work documenting the Mexican cartel wars. Union Theatre, 1:30 – 3 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-5462
Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. Performance: “Murales en Movimiento/Moving Murals.” As part of the 10th Annual Lincoln Park Day Celebration at Lincoln Park, 4001 Durazno, Ave., El Paso, TX, 79905, 2 – 3 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-6509.
Sept. 26 and 27, 2014. Performance: “Dzul Dance – México Maya.” Magoffin Auditorium, 8 p.m. Ticket information: UTEP Ticket Center, 915-747-5234 or ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000. Tickets are $26 + service fees.
Contact: 915-235-1958.
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014. Literary event: “Bilingual Poetry Reading & Talk with José Kozer,” recipient of the prestigious Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Prize. Blumberg Auditorium, University Library, 7 p.m.
Contact: 915-747-7020
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. Workshop: “How Music is Born” by Nancy Green. Armijo Library, Community Room, 620 E. 7th Avenue, El Paso, TX 79901, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Contact: 915-533-1333
Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Literary workshop: “Mujeres Cósmicas: Literatura y Arte en la Frontera.” UTEP Library, room 306, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Registration is required, please call 915-274-5798 or 915-227-6416 to register or for additional information.
Contact: 915-274-5798 or 915-227-6416.
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014. Concert: “La Ley with Moderatto and Belanova.” Don Haskins Center, 7 p.m. For ticket information, contact the UTEP Ticket Center. Ticket prices: $90, $55, $40 and $25 plus applicable service charges.
Contact: 915-747-5481