COOKEVILLE – Events celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15-Oct. 15, are planned at Tennessee Tech University. The 30-day period spans two months to be able to include independence days for a number of Latin American countries, as well as the holiday, Dia de la Raza.
Tech kicks off their celebration at the Appalachian Center for Craft this Friday, Sept. 16, from 1-4 p.m. with a lecture on revolutionary Latin American Artists with Tech art historian Bevin Butler Blair, followed by the chance to make buttons with signature designs along with Tech painting professor Perry Johnson. Reservations are required and can be made at: https://tntech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_54rIVPj6r7QyDpX.
Saturday, Sept. 17, the Tennessee Tech Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will have a booth at the Upper Cumberland Hispanic Heritage Festival from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Dogwood Park in Cookeville. The event will feature cultural booths, musical performances, interactive dance demonstrations, ethnic cuisine samples, cultural arts and artists and other activities.
United States Poet Laureate Ada Limon will visit Tech at the Backdoor Playhouse Tuesday, Sept. 20, from 7-9 p.m. She is the author of six books of poetry and will be talking about her newest, “The Hurting Kind.” She is the 24th poet laureate of the United States.
Thursday, Sept. 22, musical artist Rose Rodriguez will perform at Live on the Plaza starting at 6 p.m. A Latin pop artist based in Nashville, Rodriguez is a singer and songwriter from Honduras with songs such as “Yo Tabien,” “Okay!” and “Adios.”
A screening of the film “Dolores!” will be held Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 6 p.m. in Stonecipher 126. The story follows activist Dolores Hureta as she co-founds the first farm workers unions and fights for racial and labor justice.
Other events to be held in October are still in the planning stages and will be announced when they are finalized.
