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DECATUR, Ill. – is proud to invite the campus and surrounding community to its annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month as it continues in October with two big events. 

On Friday, Oct. 6, from 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) will host in the University Commons Banquet Rooms on the third floor. ¡La Fiesta! is a celebration of Hispanic culture, including food and music. All students are welcome, and the attire for this event is dress to impress.

In partnership with Richland Community College, Millikin presents a workshop and performance by on Sun.-Mon. Oct. 15-16 in the University Commons.

Olmeca is a bilingual hip-hop artist, producer, activist and scholar featured in Complex Magazine, Billboard, NPR, Huffington Post, Noisey and Democracy Now. His work has been featured in various documentaries on PBS, BBC World and feature films and has written music for TV shows including “Sons of Anarchy” and “The Mayans.” He is a faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the Interdisciplinary Gender and Ethnic Studies Department, teaching Latin American History, Latinx in the U.S. and hip-hop courses.

A meet and greet dinner will kick off the events on Sunday, Oct. 15, from 3-5 p.m. in the President’s Dining Room on the third floor of the University Commons. 

A Campus Workshop on Latinx Identity will take place from 12 p.m.-2 p.m. in the University Commons Banquet Rooms on the third floor. That is followed by a live Olmeca performance and Q&A from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. in the UC Banquet Rooms. 

About Hispanic Heritage Month  

Celebrated nationally from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month acknowledges the history, culture and contributions of Americans whose ancestry can be traced to more than 20 countries in Latin America, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

The official celebration of Hispanic heritage in the United States began in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Twenty years later, President Ronald Reagan expanded it to a 30-day event spanning Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The start date was chosen because it coincided with the commemoration of the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In the following days, the independence of other Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Chile and Belize, is also celebrated.