Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrates Hispanic/Latinx Community
Beginning Sept. 12 through Nov. 2, Fullerton College – a Hispanic Serving Institution will bring together students, faculty, staff, and the community to celebrate and learn about Hispanic/Latinx culture, provide a space to elevate Latinx voices, and advance educational opportunities through a variety of events in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Week. The events will be held in collaboration with North Orange County Community College District and Cypress College.
This year HSI Week, Sept. 12 through Sept. 18, coincides with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. The week-long celebration recognizes more than 500 HSI’s throughout the nation for their work and critical role in educating and empowering Hispanic youth. The Cadena Cultural Center will launch a social media campaign throughout the week and will host an HSI celebration on Sept. 15 from 12:30 – 2 p.m. in the quad.
“It is incredibly important for our Hornets to feel like they belong at Fullerton College, that we value them, and they know they are an asset to our college. Therefore, we are thrilled to host an HSI Week Celebration to highlight campus departments and resources, and provide cultural foods and FC swag, all while celebrating our Hispanic/Latinx students and all their accomplishments,” said Director of Student Development and Engagement Connie Moreno Yamashiro.
Sept. 15 is also the official start of Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM). In collaboration with NOCCCD Latino Faculty and Staff Association, Fullerton College will kick off HHM with guest speaker and artist Jose Lozano on Sept. 15 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Building 200, Room 224/226/228. The event will also be available on Zoom.
Lozano is an alum of Fullerton College whose works include paintings, murals, and serigraphs. He works in “series” of drawings or paintings which include “luchadores” (wrestlers), paper doll cutouts, peleles (puppets) and more recently sushi bar environments that juxtapose classic Japanese wall paintings with socializing Chicanos. He has also published two children’s books: Once Around the Block and Little Chanclas. In 2007 he received a mid-year career grant from the California Community Foundation in painting, and in 2015 he completed artwork for the Metro station on La Brea and Exposition called L.A. Metro Loteria. Lozano was born in Los Angeles, spent part of his childhood in Juarez, Mexico, and attended school in Fullerton. He completed a Master of Fine Art from Cal State Fullerton.
Additional notable events throughout the month will also include:
- Sept. 22 at 4 – 7 p.m. – The Puente + Legacy Center Ribbon Cutting at Cypress College
- Sept. 27 at 10 – 11:30 a.m. – A student panel on “Shedding Light on the Effects of the Pandemic on Latinidad.” The panel will be presented on Zoom.
- Oct. 4 – A field trip to the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture Museum Tour
- Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m. – LGBTQ+ History Month Kickoff and Celebration at Fullerton College Quad
- Oct. 10 at 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Indigenous People’s Day Celebration: The Indigenous Art of Healing. Presented on Zoom
- Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. – A District-wide Closing Ceremony of Hispanic Heritage Month and Fullerton College Building Dedication to alum and Latino/x Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso.
The Cruz Reynoso Building Dedication on Oct. 13 will be hosted by the Friends of Fullerton College Foundation. Cruz Reynoso became the first Latino/x Supreme Court Justice in the United States. He was born in Brea and attended Fullerton College where he was devoted to student services and was elected the first Latino Associated Student President at Fullerton College. During his lifetime, he was an outspoken advocate for social justice on behalf of immigrants, farm workers, and the rural poor. A contemporary and friend of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, he used his law expertise to fight for the rights of farm workers and rural poor and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. He became the first Latino State Supreme Court Justice in California.
“Fullerton College is honored to raise awareness of this amazing individual and his legacy for students; two-thirds of whom are Latino/x and many of whom come from working-class backgrounds,” said Vice President of Student Services Dr. Gilbert Contreras.
Contreras and others at Fullerton College led and recommended the creation of a campaign to raise awareness of the legacy of Cruz Reynoso and his connection to Fullerton College by naming the 200 Building after Reynoso for historical significance.
Although Hispanic Heritage Month officially ends on Oct. 15, Fullerton College will wrap up the month-long celebration with the return of the annual Dia De Los Muertos cultural event on Nov. 2. The event was paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will return to the Fullerton College quad on Nov. 2. The campus community can expect vibrant and artistic displays, lively music, cultural food and more.
