DeKALB – To kick off Latino Heritage Month, which takes place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the Latino Resource Center hosted its opening parade at 4 p.m. Monday. Throughout Latino Heritage Month, there will be many celebratory events including a Latino dinner on Oct. 2 at Patterson Dining and the 25th anniversary of the Latino Resource Center on Oct. 19 at the Latino Center.  

Luis Santos-Rivas, director of the Latino Resource Center in the Division of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, provided some history on the foundation of Latino Heritage Month.

“It was back in the ‘70s I believe. At first it didn’t start as a whole month, it just started for one day, then for a week, then two weeks. My understanding was a senator here in Illinois who proposed it to be a month, the whole thing started in California,” Santos-Rivas said. “The celebration of the Latino Heritage Month is because during the times of Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, many Latin countries celebrated independence.”

The event included a show of different music from a variety of Latin American countries, performed by Banda NIU, as well as Mariachi NIU. It began on Normal Road, in between Williston Hall and Swen Parson Hall. After the performance, people in attendance marched to the Latino Center, where the street had been closed off, and performed El Grito to pay homage to Mexico’s Independence day which occurred Monday.

Santos-Rivas explained the importance of these celebrations and why the Latino Resource Center decided to host these events.

“I really love my culture, and I’m very proud of my culture. We are rich in many things, music, art, food, you name it. People have to try to embrace and learn about their culture, because it is very diverse. Even the language is very diverse,” Santos-Rivas said. “One thing you would say for example in Mexico, in the Dominican, or Puerto Rico, South America can have different meanings [for the same word].”

Santos-Rivas spoke on the importance of knowing about your culture and breaking discriminative stereotypes held in Latino communities.

“The first thing is that if people think that you are Latino and see your face and they think you speak Spanish right away or that you’re Mexican. That is not the case, there are many Latino people from Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, you name it. Those who were born here, if they don’t learn Spanish, it’s not necessary that they have to know Spanish,” Santos-Rivas said. “They see you and read your name and think you should speak Spanish, and that is not the case. [There is] intersectionality. A Latino could be Asian, could be Afro-Latino. The intersectionality is broad, it depends on each person if they want to celebrate.”

Sarah Alcala, a senior nursing major, explained what Latino Heritage month means to her.

“A way to celebrate our culture and share our culture with everyone else and they can see it includes many people,” Alcala said.

The night continued with free food including tacos and lemonade, as well as games and speeches from people in the Latino community who called the young generation to action in a variety of different areas like voting, health and engagement.