Arte Hispano event kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month

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Ashley Barletta, News Editor

Sept. 15 marked the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and Mercyhurst has cause to celebrate. The “Arte Hispano” event took place on Sept. 16 in the Grotto Commons Hallway to begin the month’s festivities.

Arte Hispano began at 11 a.m. and went on until 4 p.m. During this event, students were able to observe a pop-up gallery of Hispanic art, poems, lyrics and the stories behind the art. Some paintings that were seen at the gallery were Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican War of Independence by José Clemente Orozco, Manifestation by Antonio Berni and even Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali.

It is always interesting to see the influence of people from different cultures, how they express themselves and how they view the world. “It is important to highlight all cultures that are represented on Mercyhurst’s campus and in the world in general,” said Jessica Hubert, Mercyhurst’s Multicultural and Inclusion coordinator.

“The total population of His-panic folks in the U.S. is about 60.5 million and is continuing to grow. That’s a significant amount of people living around us, and we need to learn about their history and customs just the same as they learn about the dominant culture’s (White) history and customs,” said Hubert.

Arte Hispano also featured poems like “AmeRican” by Tato Laviera, “The Sad Mother” by Gabriela Mistral and “I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You” by Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet-diplomat who met Gabriela Mistral when he was only twelve. The photos and names of many Hispanic artists, poets and lyricists were the final part of the exhibit. The exhibit highlighted their personal histories and how each of them got started with their careers.

Arte Hispano was the kick-off event for National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations on cam-pus, but other events are happening throughout the month. There will be a “Lo Que Paso, Paso” party on Sept. 29 and a movie showing of “In The Heights” on Oct. 8.

“I’m especially excited for the ‘Lo Que Paso, Paso’ party happening on Sept. 29 from 12 – 2p.m. in the Great Room,” Hubert said. “Along with some delicious Hispanic food, the Dance Department is bringing a fantastic Flamenco dancer, Alice Blumenfeld, who is going to teach two flamenco lessons (sign-ups can be found in the @hurstcampuslife Instagram bio). There is also another opportunity to learn to Bomba dance in the Taylor Little Theater on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.”

The “In The Heights” film showing will be at 6 p.m. in Zurn 114. The movie was directed by Jon M. Chu, the screenplay was written by Quiara Alegría Hudes and the music and lyrics were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. “In The Heights” is based on a book of the same title written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes and Jeremy McCarter.

It is so important that Mercyhurst celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month in the hopes that we are able to represent those of different cultures who are present at our school.

Make sure to take advantage of these cultural events to fully appreciate Hispanic culture!