Saucy dance moves and catchy rhythms on Locust Walk do not characterize Latino Heritage Month by themselves.
However, they are methods that the Latino Coalition is using to draw attention to the designated month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
According to Latino Coalition spokesman Nicolas Rodriquez, a College junior, the group will sponsor a wide range of activities in honor of the month-long celebration. Among these events are a film festival, performing arts showcase and a visual arts display.
Martin Espada, known as one of the greatest Latino poets of his generation, will add his input as one of the designated speakers for the month. Espada is the author of five poetry collections and was honored with the American Book Award for his second most recent collection, published in 1996.
The celebration's early placement within the academic year is a big plus in terms of recruitment for new members, according to Coalition Admissions liaison Cathy Aguero.
Aguero, a College junior, works with the admissions office to organize multicultural minority open houses, minority scholars weekend and other socials and dinners. The excitement the month engenders supplements her efforts in recruiting freshmen into the umbrella organization's diverse range of student groups.
"I just want to get the name out there and get people to use the Coalition as a resource for life on Penn," Aguero said.
While one would assume that the Latino Coalition's primary goal is to serve Penn's Latino community, this is hardly the main focus, according to coalition members. Rodriquez claims that serving the Latino community is merely a drop in an overflowing bucket.
"I would like to expand this organization to service groups who are not Latino," he said. "If they have an event they'd like us to cosponsor, they can turn to us."
He said that the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks exemplified this type of joint effort. Many groups in every part of the minority community coordinated student panels, vigils and discussions.
And members say the Latino Coalition is, in itself, a very diverse group. Rodriquez said that, coming from California, he had only been exposed to Mexican Latinos. Since joining the Latino Coalition, though, he has found international diversity even within this segment of people.
Rodriquez cited the expansion of the role of the Latino cultural center, La Casa Latina, as another major goal for the organization this school year.
Group members say that they envision the center becoming a place where students, regardless of their ethnicity, can congregate, meet and rest between classes.
"We are obviously a growing presence, but we still have goals to help in connecting the center to University life in general," he said.
Next Sunday, the Latino Coalition will sponsor a weekend getaway at Swarthmore College, in which representatives from the organization's 11 constituent groups will meet to exchange and brainstorm more project ideas.
Rodriquez boasts that the organization has definitely built up its presence in relation to student government this past year and can only expect more from the future.
Potential obstacles lie within the organization's limited funds, according to Coalition Secretary Celia Castellanos. But the Wharton sophomore also added that the organization has proven quite efficient with regards to what it has to work with.
"We're doing our best to overcome these restraints," Castellanos said.
