Purdue's Latino Cultural Center to celebrate 10th anniversary

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University's Latino Cultural Center will commemorate its 10th anniversary with several events this fall, beginning with a Friday (Sept. 14) open house.

The events are part of a yearlong celebration leading to the actual anniversary on April 13.

"This celebration is a great milestone," said Maricela Alvarado, Latino Cultural Center director. "The LCC is a vibrant part of the Purdue community, filled with diversity of students, the aroma of Latin cuisine, Spanglish chatter and the feeling of family. We've created a lineup of events to mark this special occasion, including festive events, thought-provoking lectures and workshops."

The open house will be from 4-6 p.m. at the center, 600 N. Russell St. The event kicks off Latino Heritage Month, which will be celebrated from Sept. 14 through Oct. 15, and welcomes new and returning students, faculty and staff to campus.

The open house keynote speaker will be Oliver T. Beatty, a Purdue alumnus who is an attorney at Ochs & Klein Attorneys, P.C., a St. Louis firm specializing in criminal defense, personal injury, workers compensation, family law and business litigation.

Scheduled events, which are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted, include:

* Sept. 20 through Oct. 28. Krannert Center. "Indigenismo Modernismo: A Selection from the Purdue Galleries' Latin American Art Collection." A collaboration among Purdue Galleries, Krannert School of Management and the art history program, the exhibition focuses on the issue of indigenismo, a social and artistic movement that attempted to give indigenous people greater visibility after the Mexican Revolution. Works by Latin American artists, including José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufino Tamayo, will be featured.

* Sept. 27. 6 p.m. Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. "Gun Hill Road," the Sundance Film Festival's "must-see" movie of 2011. Presented by the LCC, Purdue's LGBTQ Center and the Purdue Student Union Board. The film depicts a man named Enrique who returns home after three years in prison to find his world and the family he once knew has changed. A discussion led by "Gun Hill Road" director Rashaad Ernesto Green and Lowell Kane, director of the LGBTQ Center, will follow.

* Sept. 28. 7 p.m. Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Delta Phi Mu Latino Heritage Show. The 14th annual show by Purdue's first Latina-based sorority will showcase Latino/Latina culture with talent from across campus and the surrounding area.

* Sept. 29. 10 a.m. Orgullo de Purdue. Tailgate activities before the Marshall-Purdue football game, hosted by the LCC. Cost is $25 and includes a game ticket, T-shirt and tailgating activities at the LCC. Presented in collaboration with Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics. To order your ticket, go to http://ev9.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/EVExecMacro?linkID=purdue&evm=prmo&RSRC=&RDAT=&caller=PR and type in promotion code: "orgullo."

* Oct. 2. 6 p.m. Nancy T. Hansen Theatre, Yue-Kong Pao Hall. Actor-activist Esai Morales. Morales, who has appeared in the movie "La Bamba" and television programs such as "American Family" and "Jericho," combines art and activism to build understanding of social and environmental issues. Morales will share his life lessons on cultural identity and how he manages his identity development, both on and off the screen. Presented by the LCC and Purdue's Department of Theatre and the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts.

* Oct. 3. 9:30 a.m. Stewart Center, Room 214 ABCD. "Borges and the Sciences" symposium, presented by the College of Liberal Arts. What happens when literature, mathematics and physics collide? Panelists will debate the benefits of interdisciplinary research and education through the work of Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. Participants include Floyd Merrell, professor emeritus in Purdue's School of Languages and Cultures; Daniel Balderston, Mellon Professor of Modern Languages and director of the Borges Center at the University of Pittsburgh; Guillermo Martinez, novelist and Ph.D. in mathematics; and Alberto Rojo, associate professor of physics at Oakland University.

* Oct. 4. 1:30 p.m. Stewart Center, Room 322. Lecture by Daniel Balderston, Mellon Professor of Modern Languages and director of the Borges Center at the University of Pittsburgh. He will discuss gender scholarship and encourage attendees to think outside the box of established academic notions of sexuality and gender.

* Oct. 4. 7:30 p.m. Krannert Auditorium. Lecture by author Guillermo Martinez, author of "Oxford Murders" and "Borges and Mathematics." Martinez will give his perspective on the mathematical thinking that runs through his stories and novels. Martinez earned a doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Buenos Aires. "Borges and Mathematics" was translated and published by Purdue Press.

* Oct. 11. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Lambert Fieldhouse, Room 208. "Teatro Campesino," presented by Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault. The interactive event will include theater and workshops to explore how violence impacts Latina communities. The activities are designed to inspire solutions to prevent violence and promote positive social change in Latina communities.

* Oct. 15-29. Stewart Center, under the mural. "The Race Experience," presented by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The race experience kiosk offers a diversity experience where people can see themselves in a different skin. You can change your race to black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Indian.

* Oct. 16. Noon to 1 p.m. LCC, 600 N. Russell St. LaPolilla Café (Bookworm Café). The bilingual book club, a collaboration between the LCC and the Women's Resource Network, discusses "Monkey Hunting" by Cristina Garcia. The book follows a family from China to Cuba to America in a tale of immigration and assimilation. Contact Omar Diaz, odiaz@purdue.edu, to RSVP.

* Nov. 14. 6 p.m. Rawls Hall, Room 1011. "The Ancient Mayas and the Prophecy of 2012: Myth or Doom?" The event is presented by the LCC, the Native American Education and Cultural Center and the Diversity Resource Office. The ancient Maya cultures have been making headlines recently because of the alleged prophecy about the end of the world in 2012. Antonio Curet, adjunct curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, explores the topic from an anthropological and archaeological perspective. Learn about the Maya culture, their history, religion and what Dec. 21, 2012, means for them, and what it means for us.

Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9751, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Sources: Maricela Alvarado, 765-494-2530, alvaradm@purdue.edu

Omar Diaz, program coordinator at Latino Cultural Center, 765-494-2530, odiaz@purdue.edu