EIU Media Relations

Banquet to Highlight Latino Heritage Celebration

Latino Heritage Celebration activities at Eastern Illinois University are scheduled for September and October, with the main event, the Latino Heritage Banquet, set for Sept. 18.

Banquet tickets – $6 for EIU students, $12 for the general public – must be purchased by Sept. 9 at the Minority Affairs Office in the basement of Ninth Street Hall on campus.

The event is to begin with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. with music performed by the EIU’s Latin Jazz Group, followed by dinner and entertainment at 7 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The menu is comprised of gazpacho, Spanish cold vegetable soup; picadillo, Cuban ground beef hash; black beans and white rice; puree of boniato, sweet potatoes with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon; enchiladas; and three-milk cake, a Mexican dessert.

With the theme “From Neruda to Nuvo Latino: A Journey in Sight and Sound,” the banquet will include a multimedia presentation using video, recorded audio and live music centering around the work of the late Pablo Neruda, who received the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Among the presentation’s creators were members of the EIU music department, including Keith Wright as sound designer; university photographer Bev Cruse; and Janet Davidson-Hues, a world-renowned mixed media artist from Lawrence, Kan., who plans to attend.

EIU student musicians, including a new salsa band, will present musical compositions from various parts of South America.

The end of the show will feature percussion music from the EIU music department.

Guests are expected to include EIU administrators; legislators; local officials; and representatives of Charleston, Mattoon, Arcola and University of Illinois Laboratory high schools.

The goal of all Latino Heritage Celebration events is to help people of all races and cultures gather to honor their diversity and similarities.

“We want to try to help everybody become more knowledgeable about Latin America by showing them what the cultural differences and similarities are between us and North America so they can see that there’s not that much of a difference between us – we are all Americans, and we are all EIU,” said Gus Albear, coordinator of events.

Other events are scheduled as follows. All events are on the EIU campus.

-- 9 p.m. Sept. 16: Comedian Becky Donahue, 7th Street Underground, Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, sponsored by University Board.

-- 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sept. 17: “Il Postino” movie, Buzzard Hall Auditorium, sponsored by UB.

-- 3-6 p.m. Sept. 19: “Zapatistas: Keeping Their Identity in a Global World (Alternative Spring Break)," Arcola-Tuscola Room, MLK Union.

-- 7-9 p.m. Sept. 19: “The Buena Vista Social Club” movie, Buzzard Hall Auditorium.

-- 3:30-4:30 p.m. Sept. 20: “Flores de Papel: Paper Flowers in the Culture of Latin America,” a workshop in design and lecture by Kristin E. Routt, 1661 Coleman Hall.

-- 6:30-9 p.m. Sept. 20: “Merengue Night II” with a show, dance lessons and DJ, Grand Ballroom, MLK Union, sponsored by Latin American Student Organization.

-- 3-4:30 p.m. Sept. 21: “Pablo Neruda & Caesar Vallejo: Literary Presentation & Interpretation of Their Poetry” by Carlos Amaya, Kansas Room, MLK Union.

-- 4-5 p.m. Sept. 22: “Technology in Latin America,” lecture by R. Chinchilla, Charleston-Mattoon Room, MLK Union.

-- 5:30-7 p.m. Sept. 22: “The Cultural Geography of the Caribbean,” lecture by Michael Cornebise, Physical Science Building, 2120 Auditorium Hall.

-- 4-5 p.m. Sept. 26: Student paper presentations on Latin America, Arcola-Tuscola Room, MLK Union.

-- 4-5 p.m. Sept. 27: “Human Rights Violations in Latin America,” lecture by Lilian Barria, Kansas Room, MLK Union.

-- 6:30-9 p.m. Sept. 30: Faculty-Staff Wine & Cheese Social, 7th Street Underground.

-- 8-10:30 p.m. Oct. 3: “The Green Wall” movie, Buzzard Hall Auditorium.

-- 3-5 p.m. Oct. 4: “The Peruvian State and The Amazon Jungle,” lecture by Jose Deustua, Kansas Room, MLK Union.

-- 7-9 p.m. Oct. 11: “Lecture, Music & Movie -- The Culture of the Argentine Tango: A Sensory-Based Experience with Some Commentary,” presented by Vanesa Landrus and Gustavo Albear, Lumpkin Hall Auditorium.

-- 7-9 p.m. Oct. 13: Theatrical presentation by Carlos Amaya and Foreign Language students, Lumpkin Hall Auditorium.

-- 3-4 p.m. Oct. 20: “Isabel Allende: African Adventure,” lecture by Karen Taylor, Charleston-Mattoon Room, MLK Union.