Hispanic Heritage Month is a nationwide celebration in the United States which takes place from Sept. 15, to Oct. 15. Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates Hispanic culture, history and the contributions of its people.
On Hofstra University’s campus, many Hispanic and Latin students feel represented and found community through Hofstra’s Organization of Latin Americans (H.O.L.A.).
“H.O.L.A. tries to represent the Hispanic and Latin American community on campus as a whole. If you look around, there’s not a lot of us here, so we’re trying to get our representation out there so more people are aware of us,” said President of H.O.L.A., Ashley Montiel, senior criminology, sociology and Spanish triple major. “We try to host events and meetings where we get to know other people. We talk about our cultural differences, how we can make ourselves more visible on campus and discuss everything going on.”
Hofstra is a predominantly white institution, with 55% of undergraduate, graduate, medical and law students identifying as white. The Hispanic and Latin student community on campus is not very large, though it has grown in recent years.
“Hispanic Heritage Month is not something that should be hidden or looked over,” Montiel said. “It’s something where we should take a pause and give a brief explanation of what it is and what it consists of because even though it may not be important to other people, it is important to us – it’ s a way of how we identify ourselves and it’s something we should be proud of.”
Montiel said H.O.L.A. has already hosted one event during Hispanic Heritage Month and has another planned.
“This month, we had an event called Clay-Ate Your Own Flag, where each person was able to create their flag from their own país out of clay. We also have a movie night coming up,” Montiel said. “We’re going to choose a movie that highlights immigration, or another political issue in Latin America or in the U.S. that’s currently going on.”
Vice President of H.O.L.A. and senior television and film major Alyssa Acosta said the club will host a “Dios De Los Muertos” event after Hispanic Heritage Month.
“It’s one of the big cultural events that we tend to have. It’s an event where we come together and grieve the death of the people who have passed, but instead of grieving in a sad way, we celebrate them instead,” Acosta said. “We are having that event with Hofstra’s Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion department.”
Acosta said this year a new Latin representative event will be taking place on the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month.
“I student produced a Latin concert here at Hofstra, and we got a bunch of Latin musicians that were able to compose their music and play in Studio A at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication,” Acosta said. “They’re officially screening that live concert on [Wednesday,] Oct.15, in Breslin [Hall.] I think that’s another way that Hofstra is incorporating Hispanic Heritage Month which is awesome.”
Events Manager of H.O.L.A. and junior audio radio production studies major Alondra Nolasco Rojas said the club hosted its annual Welcome Back Dinner at the beginning of the semester.
“A lot of people showed up, which I was surprised by because typically we have a smaller engagement. This semester we saw a lot of not just Latin Americans, but people inviting their friends to get involved in the culture,” Nolasco Rojas said. “We had Cuban steak, pico de gallo, chips and guacamole, rice and beans and basic sodas. We got to choose the menu, which was really great food in my opinion.”
Nolasco Rojas said the opportunity to choose the food served at the dinner was important in representing Latin and Hispanic culture.
“You learn so much about people’s cultures through food and it’s a love language based not just on Latin American cultures, but internationally,” Nolasco Rojas said. “I feel like food is able to connect people together because you’re trying new things. You may not like it, but at least if you’re trying it, you learn something about it. Food is a great way for people to slowly start learning about other cultures.”
Acosta said all students are welcome to attend H.O.L.A.’s events and celebrate Hispanic and Latin culture.
“I feel like people get scared to attend these events just because they’re not Hispanic,” Acosta said. “At the same time, celebrating other people’s cultures is okay and educating yourself about it is awesome.”
In light of Hispanic Heritage Month’s recognition of Hispanic culture and history, Montiel said she hopes Hofstra will host more events discussing political issues affecting the Hispanic and Latin community.
“There might be one or two panel discussions and that’s about it, but they just go over the basic stuff. I feel like it should be a deeper dive,” Montiel said. “I definitely feel like they should try creating more events where students can come out and engage with professors or people with a higher profession to get to know more. Kind of like a guide for them.”
Nolasco Rojas encouraged students to get involved if they are curious about Latin American culture and want to learn more.
“If you want to get more involved in Latin American culture, just do it. As long as you’re respectful, people are always willing to teach others about their culture,” Nolasco Rojas said. “You don’t have to stay in one group – that’s the beauty that Hofstra has because of the abundance of cultures. Explore new things.”
H.O.L.A. posts about their events on their Instagram @holaxhofstra.