Valencia students and faculty are currently celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which started on Sept. 15 and ends on Oct. 15. This year marks the celebration’s 52nd anniversary.

Hispanic Heritage Month commemorates the history and culture of Hispanic Americans.  According to Valencia’s Fall Term Credit Statistics, 37.1% of students enrolled in the fall 2018-2019 term were of Hispanic ethnicity. Alvaro Guerra, a business administration student at Valencia College, has numerous Hispanic origins.

“I grew up among several Peruvian backgrounds, and my dad is from Cuba,” stated Guerra.

When asked how he felt about Hispanic Heritage Month, he replied, “I feel like it’s a very good way to show and demonstrate how diverse Hispanic culture is.”

To further the celebration, Student Development organized “Our Heritage, Our Voice,” a panelist discussion, which was released on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9. During the conversation, students and faculty shared some of the challenges they face in the Hispanic community. The conference can be found on their YouTube channel, Valencia College Student Development.

On Friday, Oct. 2, the Student Development team launched “Fiesta Friday – Hispanic Cuisine,” featuring Chef Jenn Delinger, who instructed how to make empanadas — a popular Latin American pastry. The team also posted “Fiesta Friday – Dancing Salsa” on Oct. 9. In this segment, Jocelyn Lopez taught viewers how to salsa dance, expanding on Hispanic rhythms.

Good Morning Valencia, a Student Development podcast, has taken part in the celebration. On Wednesday, Sept. 23 the podcast released “Fiesta At Valencia,” honoring Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Our second episode actually talks about Hispanic Heritage, and the importance of it,” explained 20-year-old co-host of the Good Morning Valencia podcast, Sebastian Valenzuela. “When we were planning the episode, we wanted to basically help people learn that there are differences between Hispanic and Latino,” said Valenzuela, who is originally from Puerto Rico.

Amanda Casquel, 30, host of Good Morning Valencia, believes Hispanic Heritage Month is an important time that allows students to learn about Hispanic culture. “We don’t realize how many elements of that [Hispanic] culture we have, […] and when you stop and think about it, you realize how important it is,” said Casquel.

Good Morning Valencia has given Casquel the opportunity to speak about her heritage. “I love talking about cultural differences, especially coming from a different country. I want people to know about my culture. I want people to know that in Brazil we speak Portuguese and not Spanish. I want people to understand that difference.”

To further the celebration, Student Development organized “Our Heritage, Our Voice,” a panelist discussion, which was released on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9. During the conversation, students and faculty shared some of the challenges they face in the Hispanic community. The conference can be found on their YouTube channel, Valencia College Student Development.

On Friday, Oct. 2, the Student Development team launched “Fiesta Friday – Hispanic Cuisine,” featuring Chef Jenn Delinger, who instructed how to make empanadas — a popular Latin American pastry. The team also posted “Fiesta Friday – Dancing Salsa” on Oct. 9. In this segment, Jocelyn Lopez taught viewers how to salsa dance, expanding on Hispanic rhythms.

These events, along with more information about Hispanic Heritage, are all posted on Student Development’s Instagram page, @studentdevcw.