Illinois State University will hold a Latino and Sustainability Cultural Dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the Brown Ballroom at the Bone Student Center. The special guest for this dinner will be activist and musician Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.
This event will be hosted by University Housing Services, Event Management Dining and Hospitality (EMDH) alongside the Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) and the Association of Residence Halls and Office of Sustainability.
Martinez, also known as “X” comes from Hispanic heritage and uses his voice not only for singing but also to speak out about the effects of fossil fuels on the environment.
Martinez has opened for other artists such as Jaden Smith and WILLOW.
Martinez sings in both English and Spanish to represent his generation and Mexican-Americans within the United States.
In his activist work, Martinez has delivered speeches to the General Assembly of the United Nations. He received the 2013 United States Volunteer Service Award from former U.S. President Barack Obama. He has also had panel discussions alongside well-known names like Pharrell Williams, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
President of the Association of Latin American Students and junior bilingual elementary education major Vania Chavez-Medina explained the purpose of the event.
“[We’re] bringing the community together to embrace Latino heritage and celebrating cultural roots with an event that promotes tradition,” Chavez-Medina said.
“The ALAS executive board will be attending the event to support not only me as a speaker, but also to support the promotion of culture within the ISU community,” Chavez-Medina continued.
Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications for University Housing Services, Hillary Campos, shared what her team hopes students will receive.
“Our intentions behind the event are to educate, inform, and give ISU students a unique experience by interacting with our cultural dinner speakers. We have hosted Cultural Dinners since 1988, making this the 36th annual Latino Cultural Dinner,” Campos said.
Students can purchase a ticket to the dinner for $25 or for a meal swipe if the student holds a meal plan. Dinner will be catered and consists of Mexican fusion dishes such as cochinita pibil and pozole, esquites and aguas frescas.
This event is open to all students to learn more about different cultures and to hear Martinez speak about his personal experiences as a Mexican-American.
Leah Gutierrez is a News and Features reporter for The Vidette. Gutierrez can be contacted at lgutie8@ilstu.edu.
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