The Center for Student Involvement will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursday in Main Building Salón Cassia on the Brownsville campus and at the same time Oct. 14 in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus.
The Sabor, Cultura, y Arte event features food, painting activities and insight through fun games.
Giovanna Granados, program coordinator for the Center for Student Involvement, shared an insight on how this event, previously known as Recetas con Amor, first came about.
“No matter where you are in the world, food is a universal language, art, music and dance, things like that, so we wanted to have those concepts,” Granados said.
The event will feature distinct foods from Latin American countries, including Salvadorian pupusas, Venezuelan arepas and Mexican esquites, with local vendors participating at the showcase, according to Granados.
Students will be able to participate in a traditional loteria game, and the event will also feature an art gallery walk to learn about the artists and background. Students will have an opportunity to paint their own tile stenciling also known as talavera tiles as part of the cultural experience.
The Office of Bilingual Integration will take part along with different Latin-based organizations around the university.
“Whether it’s that they’re Hispanic [students] themselves, to embed themselves more into their culture and learn more about their culture or just connect with their roots, but also for students that aren’t Hispanic to explore other countries and other cultures,” Granados said.
The program coordinator described the event as an opportunity to travel the world without having to step out of the Rio Grande Valley.
When The Rider asked Granados on why events such as this are important for the student community, she replied, “I think a big part of it is to have cultural awareness and appreciation for each other, like I’ve shared there’s a primarily Hispanic population within UTRGV and the Valley, but every year our diversity grows more and more.”
For more information about the event, visit V Link.
