EIU Media Relations

Banquet to Highlight Latino Heritage Month Celebration 2008

Latino Heritage Month Celebration activities at Eastern Illinois University will once again take place during September and October, with the major event -- the annual Latino Heritage Month Banquet -- set for Sunday, Sept. 14.

Folks interested in good food and music -- Latino-style -- have until Friday, Sept. 5, to purchase tickets for this year's banquet. Tickets, priced at $15 ($8 for EIU students), can be purchased in the EIU Gateway Office, Blair Hall 2170. Cash or check only. For ticket information, phone 217-581-6692.

The Latin-American banquet, which will begin with the dinner at 6 p.m., will also include a performance by the Chicago-based Hector Silveira y su Orquestra -- "The young voice of Cuban music."

According to Juanita Cross, Latino Heritage Month Committee chair, Silveira "is really excited about sharing his music with EIU and our community." (A Web site, with photos, bio and video clips, can be found at http://www.hectorsilveira.com/.)

The evening's activities will close with more music and dancing, courtesy of a disc jockey playing Latino tunes.

This year's menu will be chicken picante (spicy chicken); cheese quesadillas; black bean, corn and pepper salad; Cubanos frijoles (Cuban beans); green poblano rice buñuelos (cinnamon crisps); and fruit salad.

Other Latino Heritage Month Celebration events scheduled to take place in the coming weeks include a series of three dance lesson events. Jeanna McFarland, an EIU faculty member and adviser to the EIU Dancers, will introduce interested folks to a new dance each week:

· The cha-cha, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, in the University Ballroom, MLK Jr. Union;

· The salsa, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Grand Ballroom, MLK Jr. Union; and

· The rumba, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, in 7th Street Underground, MLK Jr. Union.

All lessons are free and open to the public. Beginners will be welcomed.

In addition, Jose Deustua, assistant professor of history at EIU, will discuss "Latin American Music: From Salsa to Reggae to Cumbia to Shakira," at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, in the Effingham Room, MLK Jr. Union. His presentation "will analyze and deal with old-style forms of music, such as rumba, to discuss and listen, moving on to much more popular and contemporary salsa."

All are invited to attend and learn more about the great variety and history of Latin American music. Admission is free.

For up-to-date information on these and other events, please see http://www.eiu.edu/calendar/events/.