Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with NSU’s Center for Applied Humanities

By Luqman Gbenro •

NSU’s Center for Applied Humanities is gearing up for its annual series on Hispanic Heritage Month. The theme is “Encanto: Everyday Magic,” and from Sept. 19 to Oct. 11, all members of the community are welcome to attend events that explore the threads of magic sewn into the tapestry of Hispanic culture.

This is the center’s third year hosting the series and the hope is that attendees gain perspective and connect with the heart of this celebration.

“It’s an idea that we’re looking back and we’re looking forward, and that we take those things that we’ve been given [and] we use them to build the future,” said Marlisa Santos, Ph.D., humanities professor and event organizer.
For Santo’s, this is more than an event, it’s an opportunity.

This is a chance for the community to have an up close and personal interaction with the humanities. Attendees will see how the humanities built the realities that Hispanic Americans see today. The center specializes in engagements like these. Its mission is “to apply the discipline of the humanities for positive change and public good,” Santos said.

Her message of positive change and building toward the future resonates with students like Angelina Alonzo, a political science major and second-generation Dominican-American.

“One thing that should be done is offering more opportunities to younger generations in order for them to better excel in whatever path they take in life,” Alonzo said. “This holiday is meant as a celebration of history, culture and innovation.”

The event was held in the Cotilla Gallery in the Alvin Sherman Library on Sept. 19. The celebration kicked off with a discussion on magical realism with New York Times bestselling author Patricia Engel, who delves further into the meaning of magical realism. The discussion explores how “the whole theme revolves around the fantastic, or the out of the ordinary all around us,” and how “those elements and ways of thinking are very integral to Hispanic communities,” Santos said.

As the series continues, the events will cover topics like enduring myths about Cuban life, cryptids from Latin America and the Caribbean and a Day of the Dead musical performance. These events are meant to be lively and diverse, a reflection of the communities they represent.

“We really want the families and friends of university students and staff and faculty to come and be part of these events, because that’s really what makes them alive,” Santos said.