Tonight at 8 p.m. Aidekman Arts Center's Alumnae Lounge will be transformed into something far more stimulating than the room's name suggests.
The Poetry Cafe will take place there this evening, with performances of poetry, music, and dance by student performers from Tufts and other nearby schools. The event is sponsored by the Association of Latin American Students (ALAS), in conjunction with Tufts' black literary magazine, Onyx.
Many of the acts in the Poetry Cafe have already signed up, but the event also encourages an open-mic aspect, according to ALAS President Marisol Rodriguez. Two of the acts are from other schools in the area, and Rodriguez has made an active effort to invite non-Tufts students to all of the Latino Heritage Month events.
Rodriguez emphasized that these events are open to non-Latino students as well. "I think that anyone from whatever culture can enjoy these events and learn from them. You can enjoy music, you can enjoy poetry," she said.
The Poetry Cafe is only one of many events taking place this month as part of ALAS and the Tufts University Latino Center's Latino Heritage Month. Next up, Dr. Jose Gutierrez is scheduled to lecture on Monday. Gutierrez, an activist since the mid-1960s and founder of several of the Chicano movement's key organizations, will be discussing "Chicanos Yesterday, Latinos Today: Paradigms of Power."
For the gaming types, the center is hosting a Hollywood Squares game show on Thursday in Hotung Cafe. The contestants will be Latino students and faculty members, and the questions will be Latino-related.
If the game show doesn't prove wild enough, students can party the following night at "Latinos Take Over Hotung," a student club-sponsored spin on the weekly Club Hotung. The party, including salsa lessons for the first hour, will be sponsored by ALAS and La Salsa, Tufts' Latin dance group. It will feature both a DJ and live music provided by Sabor Picante, a Cuban-Dominican musical group.
Rounding out the month's activities, on Nov. 1 Claudia Acevedo will lead a discussion of "Gender-based Violence and Sexual Identity in Guatemala." Acevedo's work in Guatemala centers on women's rights; in 1999, she co-founded LESBIRADAS, the only public lesbian group in her country.
In addition to the future events, the Latino Center has already hosted a variety of Heritage Month-related functions.
"Our events have been really successful. People have definitely been coming out to show support," Rodriguez said. "It hasn't just been Latinos - it's been mixed, students from different ethnicities and whatnot, different groups."
A party in Dewick, hosted by ALAS and the Latino frat Lambda Upsilon Lambda Inc., kicked off the month's events on Oct. 2. The official opening reception took place on Oct. 5, with a Spanish guitarist and Latino food. The following Tuesday, more Latino food in the form of pupusas, maduros, arroz, frijoles and carne asada was served in the campus center. Later in the week, a panel of biracial Latino students talked about their experiences both at Tufts and elsewhere in terms of their mixed race.
Most recently, Yerba Buena performed in Hotung Cafe on Tuesday. A music group from the New York City area, the group focuses on Puerto Rican and Caribbean styles of music, including bomba, plena and musica jibara.
"People came out, dancing and really enjoying themselves. There was music that is not a mainstream type of music, so it was really great to see people getting into it," Rodriguez said.
"The stuff that we do for Latino Heritage month, specifically the groups that we bring, is something that we think about a year in advance, and so it's really rewarding to organize these events and see them happen."
