The LACS Program works with students to organize cultural events that foster our awareness and understanding of Latin America, the Caribbean and the Latinx experience beyond the classroom setting. The program sponsors events such as movie screenings, art installations and cultural programs.
September 20, 2018: Public Art Installation Resiliencia y Resistencia: Puerto Rico un año después del huracán María/Resilience and Resistance: Puerto Rico one year after hurricane Maria.
On the walls of the staircase leading to the Sojourner Truth library, were a series of works by Puerto Rican artists on the anniversary of Hurricane Maria. The works highlighted the Centros de Apoyo Mutuo (Mutual Support Centers), the grassroots organization that is leading the rebuilding effort in many Puerto Rican communities. Testimonies and passages that were recorded by SUNY New Paltz students and faculty played in the background. In the evening, a vigil was scheduled to honor those who lost their lives in the tragedy. The installation was co-sponsored by the Spanish Club, the Departments of Sociology, Geology, Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and the Office of the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Latin American Student Union.
October 23, 2018: Screening of The Unafraid
In conjunction with Amnesty International Student Group, LACS held a screening of The Unafraid, a feature length documentary that follows the lives of three DACA students in Georgia, a state that has banned them from attending their top state universities and disqualifies them from receiving in-state tuition at any other public college. After the presentation of the film, there was a panel discussion about immigration featuring LACS Director, César Barros Arteaga, Sociology Professors and LACS affiliated faculty Sunita Bose and Roberto Vélez-Vélez.
October 24, 2018: LACS Fall Reception
Director of LACS, Cesar Barros, held the Program’s annual Fall Reception at the Sojourner Truth Library on Oct. 24. The annual event gathers current majors, minors, faculty, alumni, and the general student body to talk about the program’s new initiatives, study abroad opportunities, and assess general inquiries through delicious Latin American food and conversation.
November 1, 2018: Dia de los Muertos
El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated in Mexico to commemorate family members and friends who have passed away. This cultural practice includes creating private altars called ofrendas that contain the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, as well as their photos and memorabilia.
Organized by the Spanish Club. Sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program.
November 7, 2018- Screening of Dolores
The LACS Program, along with the Latin American Student Union, El Museo Escolar, Amnesty International, and the Spanish Club, held a screening of the film Dolores, a documentation of the life of Dolores Huerta, cofounder of the United Farm Workers of America. As union leader, feminist activist, and mother of 11, Dolores, as she is known in the Latinx community, has worked tirelessly in the struggle for just conditions for workers, women, Chicanxs, Latinxs, and immigrants.
This event was co-sponsored by the Departments of Economics, English, Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the School of Liberal Arts & Science.
November 13, 2018: Screening of Life After Deportation
Director Luis Argueta spoke about his personal experiences as an immigrant and the inspiration behind his two films that center around the reality of immigrants who are deported back to their country of origin after spending most of their lives in the United States.
Sponsored by Amnesty International, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, Department of Languages Literatures and Cultures, and the Spanish Club.
