BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Events at Illinois Wesleyan University will help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and is the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18.
The Illinois Wesleyan Office of Multicultural Student Affairs is sponsoring an Immigration Reform Forum on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center (300 E. Beecher, St, Bloomington). The keynote speaker will be Marti Jones, the executive director of the Immigration Project, which offers immigration legal services throughout downstate Illinois. Jones will then join a discussion forum at Hansen. The event, also sponsored by the Spanish and Latino Student Association, is free and open to the public.
The public can enjoy an evening of salsa lessons on Oct. 2. The event is a fundraiser for Radio Latino, a Spanish-language program heard on Illinois Wesleyan’s student-run radio station WESN 88.1, and is one of only two Spanish-speaking programs in Bloomington-Normal. Lessons will be from 7-8 p.m. in the Young Main Lounge of Memorial Center (104 E. University St., Bloomington), with a time for “free dance” following. Tickets for the event are $5 for the public and $3 for students, and can be purchased at the door.
Illinois Wesleyan students, faculty and staff will also participate in activities to celebrate the month, from a “Salsa Throwdown” cook-off of salsa recipes, to a group trip to visit the Hispanic Families Workgroup, which works to improve and create opportunities for Hispanic and Latino families in McLean County.