Roundtable Discussion Leads Events for Hispanic Heritage Month at Washington College

CHESTERTOWN, MD — As it continues to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, the Washington College community welcomes the public to a series of events that include a serious roundtable discussion, lessons in Flamenco dancing, and a lecture on the travel writing of a 16th century explorer from Spain.

First up, Wednesday, September 28, is a roundtable discussion on “Hispanics on the Eastern Shore” that will begin at 5 p.m. in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall. Representatives from non-governmental agencies such as Shared Opportunity Services and the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will join faculty members Adalbert Mayer (economics), Bridget Bunten (education) and Elena Deanda (Spanish), and students Ryan Bankert ’13 and Charlotte Costa ’14 for a deeper look into issues affecting Hispanic residents of the area.

On Wednesday, October 5, professional instructor and dancer Natalie Sager from Washington, D.C. will offer a master class on Flamenco dancing at 5 p.m. in the Egg, a performance space on the ground floor of the Hodson Hall Commons. Bring hard sole shoes and lots of passion.

Monday, October 10, at 5 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Carlos Jauregui, associate professor of Latin American literature and Romance languages at the University of Notre Dame, will lecture on “Ethnography as Exorcism: Cabeza de Vaca,” focusing on the Spanish explorer who wrote the first major narrative of exploration of North America after traveling through what today is Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the events are free and open to the public. Hodson Hall and Hodson Hall Commons are located on the College’s main campus, 300 Washington Avenue. For more information: www.washcoll.edu.

Photo: The first event marking Hispanic Heritage Month on campus, a Peruvian Crafts Fair held September 14 in Hodson Hall Commons, offered clothing and gifts from Inka Yuka, a Baltimore-based supplier of arts and handcrafts.