More than 50 kick off Hispanic heritage month

IU kicked off National Hispanic Heritage Month on Monday at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures where more than 50 people of all races, ages and occupations banded together to celebrate and support Bloomington’s Hispanic community.  

IU professor Arlene Diaz welcomed visitors to the celebration.

“Thank you for being here,” Diaz said. “Thank you for joining us in this place, for celebrating our deeper national and cultural identity.”

Mid-September marks the time several Latin American countries, including Mexico and Chile, declared their independence from Spain. Bradley Levinson, director of the Center for Latin American and Carribean Studies, said cities throughout Mexico mark the anniversary by assembling in the streets and celebrating together.  

“The mayor goes out to the balcony of the municipal building and shouts ‘Viva Mexico!’ and thousands of people shout back ‘Viva Mexico!’” Levinson said.

A classical guitarist strummed softly in the background while people mingled around the trays of steaming food and bit into decadent stuffed jalapenos.  

The event was organized by La Casa, which hosted an information table and was handing out calendars of the events to through Oct. 15.

The event was held at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures in part because of an accompanying exhibit called Botánica: A Pharmacy for the Soul.

“This is a great way to start Hispanic Heritage Month where people would also be able to experience the exhibit,” said Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa.  
In the exhibit, Curator Selina Morales recreated the botanica her grandmother Jerusalén Morales-Diaz ran in the late 1980s in the South Bronx.  Morales-Diaz was a spiritual healer and still works as a spirit medium. Morales said she created it as a collection of Puerto Rican culture.

“For me, having this exhibit is to have people see something they can’t see every day in Indiana,” Morales said.  

Jars of bulk herbs and rows of spiritual candles lined the walls of what could have been mistaken for a genuine botanica shop. There was a mock replica of the room Moralez-Diaz used to give readings and channel spirits to her guests, complete with holy water and a crystal ball.

“It also gives people an opportunity to look and get to know about alternative healing,” Morales said. “Religion and herbal healing have some kind of relationship.”    

Dean of Students Dick McKaig said he attended the event to show his support for La Casa and the activities they sponsor.

“These months that we have during the year are really good opportunities for students to learn more about different cultures and to emphasize that this is in fact a multi-cultural campus,” McKaig said.  

McKaig mentioned he planned to attend as many events as possible in the next month.

The annual Festival Latino takes place this Saturday and has been organized by La Casa for the past 10 years, Diaz said.

Mayor Mark Kruzan was originally scheduled to appear at the event but was busy managing the power outages caused by Sunday’s storms. In his place, Bloomington Deputy Mayor Maria Heslin declared Sept. 15 the official beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month in Bloomington, calling upon everyone in the community “to celebrate the value of diversity and the rich culture that makes our nation so extraordinary.”

John Nieto-Phillips, professor of Latino Studies said National Hispanic Heritage Month was important because it brought positive attention to the Latino population.

“I think there is a large misperception by some lawmakers that Latinos are somehow a drag on the economy,” Nieto-Phillips said. “It’s important to acknowledge the positive contributions Latinos make.”

Senior Angelo Perez, president of the IU Latinos Unidos, said he attended the event to help show Bloomington the Latino community exists. Perez said he feels the Bloomington community is not fully aware of the Latino population.  

“We are students, we are workers, we are out there in the community doing different things,” Perez said. “We are united.”