PASS Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with ‘Ofrendas’
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – More than 300 students, staff, and faculty from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi attended a Hispanic Heritage Month cultural celebration hosted by The Programs for Academic Student Support (PASS).
The theme of the Oct. 10 event, held in the University Center Lonestar Ballroom, was centered around the movie “Coco” and offered a myriad experience of Latin culture including food from local vendors and an “ofrenda” highlighting eight Latina and Latinos and their contributions to society. An ofrenda, which means “offering” in Spanish, is a collection of objects placed on a ritual altar during the annual and traditionally Mexican Día de Muertos celebration. Ofrendas included:
- Ramona Acosta Banuelos – appointed by President Nixon in 1971 as the 34th Treasurer of the United States
- Luis Walter Alvarez – American physicist and Nobel Prize winner
- Cesar Chavez – American civil rights activist and awardee of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Hector P. Garcia – Mexican-American WWII veteran, surgeon, physician, founder of the G.I. Forum, Medal of Freedom awardee, and the first Mexican-American member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission
- Severo Ochoa – Spanish-American physician, biochemist, and joint winner of a Nobel Prize
- Lola Rodriguez de Tio – first Puerto Rican-born female poet
- Emma Tenayca – Mexican-American Educator, labor leader, and Union Organizer
- Selena Quintanilla – Celebrated Mexican-American musician and entertainer
Additionally, attendees celebrated the sounds of Latin rhythms orchestrated by San Juan Underground, a displaced music group from Puerto Rico, which added to the enrichment of the event.
The Island University hosted more than 30 events during Hispanic Heritage Month, all which were free and open to the public.
