Dymen Rutkowski, Features Editor
Latin Heritage Month is upon us and Bergen Community College is honoring it in many ways.
The celebrations started with a Traditional Flag Parade presented by the Latin American Student Association (LASA) with musical stylings of Latina harpist Enki “Kiki” Bello. If you missed Bellos’ first performance, she will be one of many artists participating in the “A Musical Geography: Latin America” fall concert which will be held Wednesday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre. There will be representatives from multiple regions including, but not limited to, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Spain and Colombia.
The Ciccone Theatre will also be hosting Cruzando Caminos theater groups’ performance of “Real Women Have Curves” written by Josefina López, directed by Linda Gould Levine on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The play, which will be performed in Spanish, is a story about five Mexican-American women who work in a sewing factory set in East Los Angeles in the late 1980s. The characters will deal with pregnancy, self-worth issues, domestic abuse and even immigration/legal status problems.
With the current immigration and criminal concerns affecting the world, this play will give a perspective into the lives of women in a frightening time when they had little to no voice and no matter be to turn to. Playwright, novelist and co-author, Josefina López will have a meet and greet preceding the play at 6 p.m. in the lobby of the Ciccone Theatre.
Other keynote speakers presenting for BCCs Latino Heritage Celebration include Dr. Vanessa González-Pérez and one of the top 2500 Project Management Professionals, Anupama Kinatukara. Both events are free to attend.
González-Pérez is the Assistant Dean of Access, Diversity and Inclusion at Princeton University. She’s known to provide mentorship, advising and professional development to students. The lecture will give “A Look at Student Success” and will be held Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 12:30 p.m. in the Ciccone Theatre.
Kinatukaras’ “Be a Student of Influence” talk will be Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 12 to 2 p.m. in room C-211 in the main building. The goal of this conversation is to “learn how to leave a legacy behind you,” stated on the Latino Heritage Celebration flyer.
To get involved with these events and with the Latino community at BCC, feel free to attend a LASA meeting. The club meets on Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in room C-319.
“LASA takes it’s new members with open arms regardless if they are not from a Latina/Latino country,” said Margo Cusco, the president of LASA. “Inclusiveness and acceptance are our key values. We celebrate what our communities can accomplish when we come together with our cultures. You will learn more about yourself, meet new people and most importantly, spread our culture and bring awareness on campus. We believe it’s important to know our roots and learn from our past endeavors.”
To buy tickets for either of the performances visit the Box Office A-130 or click here.
