From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the Institute for Latino Studies has hosted a series of events to celebrate Latino culture as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
One of those events, held this Monday in Bond Hall, was “Audacious Compassion: Poetry from Summer 2025.” The event was coordinated by Karen Richman, the institute's director of undergraduate studies.
“This is an event featuring poetry [written by] students in my summer class, which accompanies the service component of the cross-cultural leadership program,” Richman said.
Students in Richman's class were asked to respond to assigned films and readings in either a standard or creative format. “The weekly reflection could be in a standard essay form in response to assigned films or especially readings, or it could be in a creative format including poetry, photo essays, fiction or music. The students took the creative option many times,” Richman said.
Impressed by the quality of her students’ work, Richman created the event as an opportunity for them to share their poetry. “The poems were so profoundly moving and personal, especially in the context of what was happening this summer, the persecution of immigrants. And then I felt I shouldn’t be the only reader of this poetry. So I organized this event and all seven of the students are going to participate,” Richman said.
Professor Francisco Aragón, the director of “Letras Latinas” at the Institute for Latino Studies, explained the institute’s mission to recognize and understand the Hispanic community. “The Institute for Latino Studies was founded at Notre Dame in 1999. And one of the reasons why the Institute was founded is that the University recognized that the Hispanic community is perhaps the fastest-growing community among Catholics,” he said.
The University’s response to this growth “was to create the Institute for Latino Studies in order to better understand this community across disciplines,” Aragón said
In addition to the Hispanic Heritage Month events, Aragón explained that “the Institute tries to offer courses and cultural events all year round to try to illuminate the US Hispanic experience in many different areas.”
Aragón reflected on Hispanic Heritage Month activities that took place earlier in the month, including an event with Wisconsin poet laureate Brenda Cárdenas.
“[Cárdenas] gave a very special presentation at the museum in which she talked about poetry inspired by visual art and gave examples of her own poetry. We had very robust attendance, close to 100 people attending. Nearly all the seats in the atrium were filled,” Aragón said.
Jason Ruiz, the director of the ILS, said the event demonstrated the institute's commitment to the arts.
“ILS was thrilled that one of our flagship programs, Letras Latinas, is partnering with the Raclin Murphy Museum to bring Brenda Cárdenas to campus. We can’t seriously study the Latino experience in the United States without consideration of Latino contributions to the arts,” he said.
In addition to Cárdenas’ talk, the Institute hosted a musical performance by anthropology professor Alex Chávez. “Another event I want to point out is one that happened recently on Oct. 2. It was at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and it was called Sonorous Present, Songs of Border Crossings, Sunrises and Mornings,” Aragón said. “[Chávez] was performing with a musical group called Quetzal. What was important about that event was that he was combining his scholarly research with music.”
Chávez’s music was inspired by his family, “who migrated to the United States from Mexico when they were teenagers. It was also a very moving performance about expressing grief for the loss of loved ones,” according to Aragón.
Aragón also highlighted upcoming events leading up to the conclusion of Hispanic Heritage Month. “This coming Wednesday, we're going to be having another event that's going to feature a postdoctoral fellow here at the ILS. Her name is Maryam Parhizkar, and she will be giving a talk about her current scholarship,” he said.
On Oct. 12-13, the Institute is inviting Latino clubs and organizations to participate in its Ofrenda Making event. Clubs and individuals can create and display an “ofrenda” (altar) in the ILS lounge. The event is “to celebrate those loved ones who have passed away, which is a lead-up to Day of the Dead, which is actually at the end of October, after Hispanic Heritage Month. But that is also a very popular event that we do,” Aragón said.
Aragón clarified that students “do not have to be Latino to major in Latino Studies or minor in Latino Studies” and reminded them that understanding the Latino community is beneficial to many careers.
“The argument that we like to make is that whether you’re going into pre-med or pre-law or business, it’s important to understand this community, whether you’re studying this community through history, political science, literature or art,” Aragón said. “The broader knowledge you have of this community, regardless of what area you’re focusing on, will help you in whatever career you pursue.”
