The Hilltopper Organization of Latin American Students (HOLAS) continues celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by exposing students on campus to different Latin American countries and the music, food, customs and traditions prominent in those cultures.
Hispanic Heritage Month, which occurs annually from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, is a way for many Americans with Central American roots to celebrate their home nations’ independence days.
Multiple HOLAS members told the Herald that Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates many diverse cultures, reiterating the idea that Latin American students can embrace multiple Hispanic cultural identities.
Valery Garcia, senior president of HOLAS and social work and Spanish double-major, said Hispanic Heritage Month is a good way for people in the Hispanic community to connect back to the country their family was from and celebrate their heritage.
Garcia is from the Dominican Republic and said the month was a good way to “celebrate her roots” since she is away from home.
As for those outside the Hispanic community, Garcia believes this month gives them the opportunity to learn something new and expand their knowledge.
“It’s a good way for them to learn about the Hispanic community because most of the people think that just because you know Spanish that you’re Mexican, but it’s good for them to know there’s more than just Mexico,” Garcia said. “There’s a whole bunch of different countries.”
Garcia said her favorite events during the month are the “All Around the World” event and “Lotería Night.” When asked how Hispanic Heritage Month made her feel, Garcia had only positive things to say.
“It makes me feel happy, because I really enjoy seeing everyone celebrating, and I also enjoy celebrating my own heritage,” Garcia said.
Athziry Zetina, senior vice president of HOLAS and criminology and psychology double-major, said that Hispanic Heritage Month means “happiness and memories” to her. Zetina said she is “proudly” from Mexico.
“I think it is important for people to learn about other cultures in general and be able to educate themselves about other cultures that exist in the world,” Zetina said. “I think it made us more mindful, and it made us see more of what’s outside the box.”
Zetina said her favorite event during Hispanic Heritage Month is “Lotería Night.”
“My favorite event of Hispanic Heritage Month is ‘Lotería Night’ from HOLAS because it reminds me of my childhood when I would sit at a big table with all my aunts and cousins playing Lotería together having fun and laughing,” Zetina said. “Being able to share those memories with other people holding this event makes me very happy.”
Zetina said she loves to show off her culture all the time by speaking her language, wearing Mexico’s soccer jersey, wearing Mexican earrings and more.
“I enjoy every single thing about this month,” Zetina said. “I am a person who is very proud of her heritage, and I love to show my culture to other people, but I personally show my culture any time, any minute outside of Hispanic Heritage Month.”
Michelle Ramos, junior secretary of HOLAS and nursing major, said she has participated in the organization’s Hispanic Heritage Month activities since her freshman year when she joined the organization. Ramos’ family is from Mexico, but she is a natural-born citizen of the United States.
“Since I’ve been here, every year they [HOLAS] either added onto the events they already had from past years or created new ones,” Ramos said. “Last year we did a cookout collab with FIJI [Phi Gamma Delta], and this year we started off with the ‘All Around the World’ event. It’s one of my favorites.”
Ramos said the “All Around the World” event was something that many people went to and one of her favorite things during the event was the line dancing.
“To me, it’s just a way to express our culture,” Ramos said. She said that each Latinx country has its own individual culture with different traditional dances, foods and activities they like to do.
“With HOLAS it’s a way to have it [Hispanic culture] exposed to the students, and to also the Bowling Green community,” Ramos said. “I want people to know that everyone is different, and just because one comes from a certain place doesn’t just mean they’re just from there. Yeah, some people, they can be from multiple countries from their parents’ sides, and there’s various cultures and languages that are involved with who they are.”
Ramos said Hispanic Heritage Month is a very “joyous” and “colorful” event that is “festive, bright and cheery” and inclusive to anyone who wants to come to celebrate and support.
Anastacia Álvarez, sophomore outreach coordinator of HOLAS and family consumer sciences and education double-major, said that Hispanic Heritage Month was important in preserving cultural identity.
“I think it’s important just because I feel like sometimes with certain cultures, they get kind of erased, or like left behind or forgotten,” Álvarez said. “And so, I think having a whole month dedicated to the culture is a good way to kind of remind people and be like hey we’re here.”
Álvarez’s father, Fabián Álvarez, is the current advisor of HOLAS and helped start the organization a little over a decade ago. Álvarez said the organization used to go under a different name but had died out, and so her father brought it back with HOLAS.
When asked about what Hispanic Heritage Month meant to her, Álvarez said she was proud to get to show off her heritage, especially since she is multiracial.
“To me, it’s just being proud of who I am, and my culture and getting to show off because I don’t always get to display that part of me, especially since I’m very white-passing,” Álvarez said.
Calee Carroll, junior member of HOLAS and political science and legal studies major, said that having a community to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with has been a great part of her college experience. Carroll is Guatemalan and said before coming to Western, while she knew about Hispanic Heritage Month, she did not celebrate it on such a wide scale as she does now.
“I think over the past two years, it’s been really great to be a part of HOLAS and have it [Hispanic Heritage Month] just so widely celebrated, and especially because the university is generous enough to give us funding and to help us put on these celebrations,” Carroll said. “And I think as well, it just means a lot more now because where I’m from, I was one of the only Hispanic people in my graduating class in high school, and so now I have a community and have all these new people to celebrate with and kind of get to it on a more cultural level instead of just observation level.”
Carroll said she believed it was important for people to learn and participate in HOLAS’ Hispanic Heritage Month activities because a big part of Hispanic culture is emphasized in sharing.
“I think that we see that [sharing] through the languages, the food, letters of writing and of Scripture and all these different things,” Carroll said. “So, I mean, sharing our culture and sharing our community is something that I mean a lot of us really, really value, especially in a place like a college campus when there’s just so many more opportunities to let people get involved.”
HOLAS will conclude their Hispanic Heritage Month festivities with a celebration during the MSTU volleyball game against WKU. Hilltoppers can stay up-to-date on HOLAS events through the organization’s Instagram account.
News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at [email protected].
