WSU celebrates Semana de la Raza Feb. 28 -­ March 5

Washington State University will celebrate Chicana/o Latina/o culture, through arts, performances, poetry, entertainment and food Feb. 28 through March 5 with Semana de la Raza 2005.

This year’s theme is “1,000 Comunidades, Una Voz, Un Sueno” (“1,000 Communities, One Voice, One Dream”).

The celebration will begin at noon Feb. 28 with a piñata smash and welcoming ceremony on Glenn Terrell Mall. Chicana/o Latina/o organizations will present Leadership and Empowerment United from 6-7 p.m. in the Compton Union Building Auditorium, followed by the keynote address from Aurora Levins Morales at 7 p.m. Morales, a poet, writer and activist, writes about the current state of the world from the perspective of a feminist who is both a Puerto Rican and a Jew. Her poem “Shema” has been read at rallies and religious services across the country.

The art exhibit by Chicano artist Ruben Trejo will be on display throughout Semana de La Raza in the Fine Arts Building Gallery III. Trejo, a Spokane artist and professor emeritus at Eastern Washington University, has created sculptures of crosses since the 1970s primarily using welded metals. Trejo will give a 6 p.m. lecture March 1 in the Fine Arts Center Student Gallery III. A reception and judged art award session will follow at 7:15 p.m.

A March 2 speaker series, “Encuentros,” is set for noon to 3 p.m. in the Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, Room 512. Raul Sanches, interim director of the Center for Human Rights, will present “Latinos in America and at WSU: One Latino’s Perspective” at 5 p.m. in the Murrow School of Communication Addition, Room 21. The movie “Motorcycle Diaries,”
a true story of a 23-year-old student from Argentina, who in 1951-52 traveled across South America on a motorcycle, will show from 7:30-9:30 p.m. in the CUB Auditorium.

Ricardo Sanchez and Cristina Gaeta will give a 5 p.m. presentation March 3 on the Latina/o Educational Achievement Project, regarding resident tuition (HB 1079), and on the DREAM Act in the Smith Center, Room 518. The DREAM Act is proposed to eliminate a provision of the law that currently requires lawful immigration status in order to qualify for any post secondary education benefit based on state residency. There will also be a judged poetry contest at 7 p.m. in the CUB Lair.

On March 4, La Alianza, the Chicana/o Latina/o homecoming reception, is set for 5-6:30 p.m. at the Lewis Alumni Centre. There will be a judged talent show at 7 p.m. in the CUB Lair, followed by an 8:30 p.m. Bossanova performance by Sivia Lazo and Paul Grove, also in the CUB Lair.

For more information, contact Manuel Vega at (206) 979-1036 or e-mail omegavega1@hotmail.com.