Hispanic Heritage Month began Monday, Sept. 15, and SMU’s Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement marked the occasion with a spread of traditional Hispanic food and a performance from Mariachi San Antonio DFW.
At noon, SMU students and faculty gathered on the second level of Hughes-Trigg Student Center to participate in the celebration of cultural identity and entertainment.
Assistant Director of the SCIE Brandon Kitchin opened the event with a warm welcome before guests filled their plates with fajitas, frijoles and sopapillas. The Mariachi band performed as trumpets and guitars filled the air with traditional songs.
“We want to celebrate the culture,” Kitchin said. “You know, Hispanic Heritage Month is a great experience. It’s the first event of the academic year to provide community, education, and awareness to our entire SMU community.”
Students across SMU’s Hispanic community felt empowered by the event, as they connected with their respective heritages.
“Hispanic Heritage Month is about connecting with my culture and traditions,” SMU freshman Alyssa Hernandez said. “These kinds of events feel really welcoming for a community and makes me connect with people.”
Many attendees said the activities allowed them to feel more represented on campus.
“It makes me feel supported and brings a sense of safety to campus,” senior Alina Muñoz said. “Also, it just makes me happy to see that my culture is being seen and recognized.”
It was heartwarming for students to see the diverse group of individuals who participated in the event, and it was clear that the celebration was greatly enjoyed. However, having fun was not the only takeaway the kickoff provided, according to Associate Director of the SMU Cox Latino Leadership Initiative Stephany López-Coronado..
“Programs like this really are about exposing the identity of the Latino/Hispanic culture and it’s a great way for people to learn,” López-Coronado said.
By engaging with students from diverse backgrounds, SMU community members are able to better understand their peers and share in each other’s practices. Engaging with each other in these ways brings us closer together as a student body and the SCIE has made a significant step toward achieving that goal.
