A Public Dialogue on the Past, Present and Future of a Community Institution

Dear Hispanic-Latinx students, faculty, staff, Gainesville area community and supporters,

Muchas gracias to Kendra Blandon, this year’s HHM president, and to all those students involved in programming all the events for Hispanic Heritage Month 2018 at the University of Florida. Inspired by the University of Florida HHM theme, “Legacy,” and the national theme, “One Endless Voice to Enhance our Traditions,” Encuentro, a public dialogue between founding members of UF’s Institute of Hispanic-Latinx Cultures, “La Casita,” and those who were there during its earliest years will take place October 3, 2018 at the University of Florida Ustler Hall Atrium at 6:00 pm.

Participants include the students who petition and labored to create La Casita, the faculty who supported their efforts, and those who became involved once the Institute was up and running. The purpose of such dialogue is to find ways to sustain and deepen our commitment to La Casita, ethnic studies, and civic engagement at the University of Florida and beyond. Sponsored by the University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, the University of Florida Hispanic-Latino Affairs and the Center for Latin American Studies, this dialogue aims to empower and envision. As the University of Florida rebuilds La Casita, Encuentro invites members of the community to take part in this dialogue and envision where we go from here.

Encuentro speakers:

• Minerva Simon, first director of La Casita serving during the 1994-1995 academic year.
• Maria Masque the second director of La Casita from 1995 to 1997 and UF alumni.
• Dr. Milagros (Millie) Rivera faculty member in the UF College of Journalism and Communications from 1993-2000, heavily involved in La Casita in its early years.
• Dr. Fernando Fagundo emeritus professor of Civil Engineering at UF. Fernando served as President of the Hispanic Faculty Association when students petitioned La Casita.

This Hispanic Heritage Month we “Embrace our Legacy” and become “One Endless Voice.” Encuentro will provide a forum to foresee a future where our 505-year old presence in the US and or legacy and heritage becomes visible, where we gain strength, heal from past stumbling blocks, empower each other and build bridges and alliances to support a community that is inclusive.

At this Encuentro, we can find ways to sustain and deepen our commitment to La Casita, ethnic studies, and civic engagement at the University of Florida and beyond. Event organizers will create extra-credit sign-in sheets on request for this event. Please consider SPOHP event a part of your class, community or faith-based educational programs! This event will be live-streamed. Te esperamos!

Embrace your legacy!

Un abrazo,

Maria Masque
Former director Institute of Hispanic/Latinx Cultures “La Casita” (1995-1997)

Encuentro Information 

Where: Ustler Hall Atrium, University of Florida
When: October 3, 2018
Time: 6:00 pm

OUR LEGACY

History of National Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month began as Hispanic Heritage Week, established by legislation sponsored by Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles) and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. The commemorative week expanded by legislation sponsored by Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-Pico Rivera) and implemented by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period (September 15 – October 15) and enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Also, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.

Hispanic Heritage Month Intent

Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the contributions of Hispanic and Latin Americans to the United States’ heritage and culture. Hispanic Heritage Month also celebrates the long and significant presence of Hispanic and Latin Americans in North America. A map of late 18th-century North America depicts our presence in the United States. From the small outpost of San Francisco founded in Alta California in 1776, through the Spanish province of Texas with its vaqueros (cowboys), to the fortress of St. Augustine, only 73 miles away from the University of Florida, the first colonial settlement in North America founded in 1513, Hispanic presence precedes by ninety-four years the time the English landed in Jamestown, Virginia.

Our Mixed Heritage

The complex process of mestizaje acknowledges that numerous Native Nations populated the United States before the arrival of Spanish conquistadores in the 1500s. It also clarifies the fact that “La Conquista” did not mean good news to Native people or to the African people enslaved during the process of colonization. We must remain conscious that vast portions of the US belonged to Native American Nations, Mexico and Puerto Rico before taken or sold to the US and that Hispanic/Latinxs/Chicanxs in the US have ancestral lines that include Native American roots form a variety of Native American tribes, African, and Arab roots (Arab influence in Spain), and numerous waves of migration from other Latin American countries and from many countries around the world.

As mestizos, we come in a multiplicity of colors and embrace numerous ethnicities, cultural traditions, languages, and belief systems. As President Obama stated during his Presidency, “Hispanic heritage is one of the richest and most diverse heritages in the world.” We are Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Japanese American, Peruvian-Chinese American, Venezuelan-Lebanese American, African-Latinxs, Bolivian-Belgian American, Chinese-Mexican American, Hopi-Mexican American, Boricuas, Newyoricans, Puerto Rican-Taino, Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Christians, Muslims, Yoruba, Buddhists, Santeros, come in a diversity of genders and body types, include members with disabilities as well as straight and gay people and dance or respond to a plethora of beats that include African, Native, Arab, and  Muslim musical rhythms. Our ancestors also include major world civilizations: Inca, Maya, Aztec, Olmec, Islam and so on.

Contributions of Hispanic-Latinxs

Hispanics/Latinxs in the US have contributed to the building of this nation since times before the establishment of British colonies and the arrival of the Pilgrims, and we continue to do so today. Because of former Spanish and Mexican sovereignty over lands that are now part of the United States, there are many places in the US with Spanish names. States in the US include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Nuevo Mexico (changed to New Mexico), Texas (originally Tejas) and cities include Los Ángeles, San Antonio, San Diego, San José, El Paso, Las Vegas, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Sacramento, San Agustín, Boca Ratón, Marana, San Francisco.

Numerous counties in the US also carry Spanish names, including Alameda County (California), Amador County (California), Angelina County (Texas), Chaves County (New Mexico), Conejos County (Colorado), De Soto County (Florida), Esmeralda County (Nevada), Guadalupe County (New Mexico). Myriad street names across the US have Spanish names like Alhambra, Zamora, Camino del Oeste, Valle del Oro, Ponce De Leon, Manzanita Drive, Corona Avenue, Alta Vista Road, Montebello Avenue.

Likewise, numerous national trails named after Spanish explorers include the Juan Bautista De Anza National Heritage Trail, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, De Soto Trail, and Coronado Trail. Among major mountains, we find Sangre De Cristo, Santa Catalinas, Santa Rita, and Palo Verde mountains to name few. Add Rio Salado, Arroyo Chico, Rio Grande, Rio Colorado to the list of US rivers, and you get the picture. We are everywhere!

What about places in Gainesville, Florida, with Spanish names? Let’s start with UF’s name, University of Florida. From St. Augustine to Key Largo, the state’s Hispanic heritage is evident just from a look at the Florida map.

Mapping “America”

The United States of America has been an independent nation since 1776. That makes the US 231 years old, a baby when compared to the 505 years (1513 to 2018) of continuous Spanish/Latinx/Mexican presence in the United States which is 274 years older. The US name “America” derives from Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer, navigator, and cartographer born in the Republic of Florence in the 1400s who accompanied Cristopher Columbus, the undocumented immigrant in charge of the expedition that named the Americas. As such, America includes North, Central, and South America. Pues si, “America the Beautiful” spans from the Arctic circle all the way to Antarctica and includes Canada, the United States, Mexico, Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Surinam, Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo y otras islas del Mar Caribe.

La Casita History

Back in 1991, Hispanic-Latinxs already constituted the largest ethnic minority group at the University of Florida. Despite such trend, relatively few recruitment and retention programs existed within the State University System that genuinely addressed Hispanic-Latino students’ needs. In 1991, the Office of the Provost created a Quality of Life Task Force to address issues of concern brought up by African-American and Hispanic-Latinx student leaders, faculty, and staff. One of the propositions that emerged from this Task Force was the need for a Hispanic-Latinx student Center.

As part of the 1991 Quality of Life Task Force and with student Lybia Rodriguez as the instigator, UF Hispanic/Latino students Vanessa Carlo, Viviana Delgado, and Juan Vitale united with Lybia, Minerva Simon (Encuentro Speaker), Dr. Fernando Fagundo (Encuentro Speaker, Former Hispanic Faculty President) faculty, and staff, and prepared a proposal for the creation of the Institute of Hispanic/Latinx Cultures at UF. Minerva Simon became the first director of al Casita. The Wheels Turned!

Why La Casita?

The Institute of Hispanic-Latinx Cultures of the University of Florida was established to enhance the educational experience of Hispanic-Latinx students. Better known as La Casita, the Institute was the first of its kind in the southeastern United States and was the result of student initiatives on campus. Such efforts resulted in the Hispanic-Latinx Collegiate Forum, the first statewide conference dedicated to Hispanic-Latinx student empowerment and leadership development, the Hispanic-Latinx Congress, and Florida Hispanics-Latinxs Organized to Promote Empowerment, Florida HOPE, a statewide student organization with membership from many universities across the Sunshine state. The activities of the emerging center received attention from Unidos (Formerly The National Council of La Raza), The National Puerto Rican Coalition, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, Revista Temas, New York, and Hispanic Review Magazine to name a few.

Today, 27 years later, we stare at the empty lot where la Casita once stood and ask ourselves, why do we need La Casita? The answer is simple. Although we have a 505-year legacy in this country and we constitute the largest ethnic minority in the United States and the largest ethnic group in the Americas, we are still underrepresented at the University of Florida, the enslavement of Latinx/Chicanx migrant workers is still well and alive today, as evidenced by strawberries covered with whipped cream grown by underpaid and exploited migrant workers in Watsonville, and the current immigration policies attempt to eradicate our presence from the landscape of the US.

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898 when acquired from Spain after the Spanish-American War. With approximately 3.5 million residents, Puerto Rico is the most highly populated of all United States territories. Despite this, Puerto Ricans, who are both taxpayers and US citizens by birth, did not count when Hurricane Maria devastated the island. What about the families in the US/Mexico border along Ambos Nogales (Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona) separated by border walls?

Majority-Minority Projection

The US Census Bureau 2015 report titled Projecting Majority-Minority analyzes the 2060 US population projections. The report presents a consistent trend on Hispanic population growth, and it predicts a “majority-minority” for the 2060 horizon. We do not have to go too far into the future to observe these trends.