Fiesta, service to highlight Latino culture

CLU events mark National Hispanic Heritage Month

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(Thousand Oaks, Calif. – Sept. 26, 2012) The public is invited to a fiesta and a chapel service at California Lutheran University in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

A Día de la Raza fiesta will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Lundring Events Center. The Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America mark the October 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas with Día de la Raza, a celebration of the Hispanic heritage of Latin America and the ethnic and cultural influences that make it distinctive. CLU’s Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) fiesta will include food and activities.

A Hispanic Heritage Chapel Service will be held at 11:25 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in Samuelson Chapel. It will celebrate the Hispanic heritage of CLU students and the Latino culture.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Started in 1968 as a weeklong celebration by President Lyndon Johnson and expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, the 30-day observance was enacted into law on Aug. 17, 1988.

The dates of the observance are significant because important Latin American events fall within the month. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate the anniversary of their independence on Sept. 15. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively. Columbus Day, or Día de la Raza, is observed on Oct. 12.

CLU’s Office of Multicultural Programs and International Student Services and the Latin American Student Organization are sponsoring the free events.

Lundring Events Center is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center north of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus. Samuelson Chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive.

For more information, call Daniel Lawrence at 805-493-3489.

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