Hispanic month kicks off today

La Casa, the Latino Cultural Center, wants to send a message to students: "Mi casa es su casa."\nBloomington residents are invited to La Casa, located at 715 E. Seventh St., to celebrate the kick-off of National Hispanic Heritage Month from 4 to 6 p.m. today.\n"This is a great way to start out the academic year," La Casa Director Lillian Casillas said. "It makes learning about other cultures a complimentary part of education to what (students) would get in the classroom."\nCasillas said a variety of events will be spotlighted during the month, and many will continue throughout the year. La Casa will host a film series, cooking demonstrations, several discussion series, among other events, to highlight members of the Latino community. Students can also visit La Casa between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays.\nLa Casa graduate assistant Zelideh Martinez said attendees can eat while interacting with others and meet people around the city who help educate people about the Latino community. \n"(Latinos) are among one of the largest minority groups on campus," Martinez said. "It's important to be aware of their culture."\nBloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan will issue a proclamation at La Casa Thursday. \n"(The) celebration and proclamation are ... symbolic recognitions of the importance of our Hispanic community's vital role in our culture, society and history," Kruzan said in an e-mail.\nLike the La Casa staff, Kruzan encouraged all people to help celebrate Latino culture. \n"The true definition of the word 'community' is only met when all people are made to feel that they are entirely included," he said.\nIU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis will also attend.\n"Opportunities such as Hispanic Heritage Month enable the rest of us to learn about a culture within the larger American culture," Gros Louis said in an e-mail.\nGraduate assistant Missty Warren said former President Lyndon B. Johnson started National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968. In 1988, it became a monthlong celebration. Warren explained that the month's time span of Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 has cultural significance. She said Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica all celebrate their independence Sept. 15. Mexico celebrates its independence Sept. 16 and Chile celebrates Sept. 18.\nWarren said the U.S. Census refers to Hispanics as any race of Spanish-speaking people. She said while there are similarities, there is also diversity within the Hispanic community.\n"National Hispanic Heritage Month provides Hispanics/Latinos with an opportunity to come together and celebrate differences as well as similarities," she said.