Doña Ana Community College is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month and is inviting the public to join the celebration.
From now until Oct. 15, the DACC Library will host various online and in-person presentations highlighting the Latinx and Hispanic communities.
DACC Librarian José Aranda will host four presentations on Zoom:
- “Hispanic History is American History” will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 20. Aranda will discuss why Hispanic Heritage Month is relevant.
- “Some Interesting Facts about South America” will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 27. Aranda will discuss unique aspects of South America.
- “The Price of Salvation” will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6. Aranda will present a personal journey growing up Hispanic in the Mesilla Valley.
- “Indigenous Peoples Day: Cultural Exchanges & Early Interactions Between the Spanish and Native Americans in North America” will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 11. Aranda will discuss Native American history in the United States, covering the Southwest, New Mexico and Spanish colonialism.
“Being Hispanic brings an opportunity to live in shared communities – where one’s own language, culture, family, food and customs become common, community values. And that is neat," Aranda said.
Jennifer Olguin and Teddie Moreno will present “Pedro Garcia de la Lama: Spanish Language Press and Cultural Identity” at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6, on Zoom. The talk will cover de la Lama, publisher of El Defensor del Pueblo, one of the earliest Spanish language newspapers in Mesilla, and his major contributions and legacy as an advocate for the Liga Protectora Latina, an early civil rights group for Hispanic people in the Southwest.
DACC will then host “La Grand Fiesta” from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the DACC East Mesa Campus patio. The event will feature live mariachi music and traditional Mexican folclórico dancers.
Tim Chappell and Hale Hubber will also present “Las Cruces Sister Cities Int’l, Ciudad Lerdo Mexico affiliation” at 3 p.m. during DACC’s “La Grand Fiesta.” Their talk will explain Sister Cities International and cover Las Cruces’ experience with Ciudad Lerdo, Mexico, and Nienburg, Germany.
All attendees must comply will NMSU and state health protocols while participating in the in-person events.
To register for the Zoom presentations, email library@dacc.nmsu.edu or call 575-528-7261. For more information about the events, visit https://dabcc.nmsu.libguides.com/latinx.