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Hispanic heritage celebrated
By D.A.WILKINSON
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown Hispanic Heritage Celebration ranged from art to music to dance to the Latin American Motorcycle Association.
One of the drawings on display Friday night in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University was of the head of a man smoking a pipe with Spanish words flowing down the man’s arm.
That work was from Lauren Reese, an 11th-grader at Mahoning County Career & Technical Center.
The theme of the event was “Listen to our Hispanic Voices” — or “Escucha Nuestras Voces Hispanas.”
The event was in conjunction with the national observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, which usually is observed Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
Participants in the program also named the Spanish-speaking countries and their capitals as a reminder to those with Hispanic roots that they must be aware of and learn about the cultures in other Spanish-speaking countries as well as the United States.
Virginia Krall Ortiz was wearing a Latin American Motorcycle Association jacket, as was her husband. She said the motorcycle association will sponsor a “Boots, Bikes and Big Wheels” event at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana American, 3660 Shirley Road, to raise money for its food pantry. The cost is $10 a person. She said the motorcycle jacket represented a part of America’s cultural melting pot, adding, “My husband’s parents are Amish.”
The event was coordinated by the Hispanic Heritage Planning Committee through YSU’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, with support from campus organizations and local sponsors.
“YSU has a history of hosting events during Hispanic Heritage Month. This is a great event to bring the community together,” said Yulanda McCarty-Harris, YSU director of equal opportunity and diversity.
Sponsors for the YSU Hispanic Heritage Celebration include Home Savings, the YSU Center for International Studies and Programs, Partners for Workplace Diversity and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.