CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- Wednesday, SIU Carbondale kicked off National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month with special events and presentations.
This year's theme is "esperanza" which is Spanish for hope. Organizers and participants say this is a month to enjoy and learn about diversity and other cultures.
SIU kicked off National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month with a premiere screening of "Footprints in the Sky,"
a Master's thesis project by Daniel Rodriguez.
The film tells stories of the first Purépecha families to settle in the Cobden area, with messages of human's interaction with nature. He says he's humbled to be a part of this program and shared what the month means to him.
"Yeah, of course the economy of course and all these elements, but there's also in the culture of the U.S. and the food that we eat and everything like Hispanic culture has been here forever too, so I think it's a good opportunity to bring in visibility and to bridge cultures and to see that we're not as different as we think," he said.
One of the Purépecha featured in the film has her work displayed in SIU's Library Rotunda. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
"I wanted to capture the childhood memories, the reason I am the way I am nowadays as an adult and those memories were of my migrant community, growing up with my migrant community, the love that I have with them," said Juana Duran Charicata.
Participants say they're glad to be back in person after having virtual celebrations last year due to the pandemic. They say it's a great opportunity for the community to experience new things.
"We have great events that involve amazing food, beautiful music, really good dancing. We have piñata making, salsa making, some excellent films on display as well, art that's really beautiful, art that's here right now, so yeah I think it's a great opportunity to take for the entire family," said participant David Hernandez.
Here's the schedule of event and activities: .
