"Every single event captures a different aspect of Latinos and Latin America and brings it together as a teaching and learning experience-not only for its members but for everyone in the community," explained Gabriela Serrano '01.
La Causa's mission is to promote Latino/a culture and to include both the College and town in their events. But this serious goal doesn't preclude group members from enjoying the social benefits. "It's fun. It provides support-we're all friends," said Aimee Wilczynski '03.
In order to represent the largest possible variety of Latino/a cultures, the group holds an assortment of different events. Recently a Peruvian student planned a concert by Machu-Picchu, a band specializing in Andean music, and a Cuban student organized a lecture on the religion of Santeria.
"Coming from the Carribean, Mexico, Central America and South America, everyone has a different Latino culture to share and different experiences," Serrano explained. "La Causa tries to bring it all together."
Latino Heritage Month's keynote event is "Voices from the Voiceless," a poetry reading by a group of Nuyorican poets. In the past, the poets came to the College every year, but they have not returned in the past two years. La Causa members said they are looking forward to this year's performance as a more political offering than the other events.
Max Ubelaker Andrade '02 noted, however, that every event is a mix of "the beautiful, political, musical, and artistic within the different cultures we represent."
According to Ubelaker Andrade, the strength of this month-and La Causa events in general-is the ability to provide entertainment "while creating solidarity and strength in the manner in which they are shared and appreciated."