UNO hosts community Hispanic Heritage Month celebration

By T.C. Sprencel
University News Service
September 23, 2010

Texas State University-San Marcos student organization Uniendo Nuestras Organizaciones (UNO), along with the Hispanic Policy Network (HPN) and Seeking Opportunities, Achieving Results (SOAR) will host the inaugural Community Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Oct. 9 at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center in San Marcos from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The theme for the event will be “Latinos: Past, Present & Future.” The morning session will focus on the past and will feature Aztec dancers along with various speakers and presentations.

The first half of the afternoon will emphasize present Latinos, and will consist of remarks by UNO and performances by Texas State’s Mariachi Nueva Generación and Grupo Folclórico Ocotochtli. Highlighting this segment will be San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro’s presentation of “Latinos in Politics.”

The third part of the event will focus on future Latinos and will feature Mariachi Infantil and a “Latino Issues Today” presentation by LULAC State Director Joe Cárdenas II. Other guest speakers include Andrés Guerrero, author of “Chicano Theology,” and Leticia Garza Falcón, author of “Gente Decente: A Borderlands Response to the Rhetoric of Dominance.”

UNO is a newly formed organization whose mission is to unite all Latino student organizations and facilitate interaction between the San Marcos community and Texas State. HPN is a staff and faculty organization committed to the improvement of higher education opportunities for Hispanics.

SOAR will present its third annual San Marcos Education Fair in conjunction
with the festivities. Texas State student organizations and local political candidates will have information booths at the event.

Intermissions will include live disc jockey performances. Embassy Suites Hotel, Spa & Conference Center will provide food throughout the event.

Event cosponsors include the Indigenous Cultures Institute, the City of San Marcos, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, McCoy’s Building Supply and others.

Donations can be made online at www.indigenouscultures.org. For more information, please contact Fidencio Leija-Chavez, president and founder of UNO, at (512) 757-4907, or via email at fl1023@txstate.edu.