CALENDAR: ¡Viva!

Editor's Note: I helped organize these events and will serve as a participant in two of them. I'm also a founding member of the college's new Hispanic student organization that is co-sponsoring this program.

JCCC HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS

The Hispanic Experience at JCCC
Regnier Center 101A
Sept. 9, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
A forum of JCCC Hispanic students and staff will lead a discussion of the Hispanic Experience at JCCC. Panelists include Miguel Morales, library aide and former managing editor of The Campus Ledger; Will Suarez, student; Gloria Rosso, counselor; and Luz Alvarez, Spanish professor; moderated by English Professor Steve Werkmeister. This event is free and open to the public.

Hispanic Heritage Month Movie: "Walkout"
Craig Community Auditorium
Sept. 15, noon-2 p.m.
Former spy kid, Alexa Vega stars alongside Michael Pena ("Crash") as a teacher and student at the center of the 1968 student protests in Los Angeles. These events not only inspired similar walkouts against anti-immigrant legislation in 2006, but they also shaped a generation of youth into civil rights leaders. This showing is free and open to the public.

Latino Writers Collective Forum
Hudson Auditorium, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Sept. 25 - Reception at 6:00 p.m. - Forum at 7:00 p.m.
Kansas City’s own Latino Writers Collective, a group that meets regularly at The Writer’s Place to support Latino writers through readings and critiques and by coordinating events throughout the metro area, released its first anthology in May, "Primera Pagina, Poetry from the Heartland."

Members include Gloria Martinez Adams and Sofiana Olivera, cofounders Jose Faus and Linda Rodriguez, and JCCC students Carlos Duarte and Miguel M. Morales. Join us for readings from the collective’s work and a discussion of the Latino writer’s unique role in both the literary world and the larger community. Prior to the forum, a reception will be held from 6:00-7:00 in the Atrium of the Nerman Museum. This event is free and open to the public.

Diversity Book Group: Books and Burritos
In Focus Dining, Commons Building
Oct. 3, 2-4 p.m.
Los Angeles Times reporter, Sam Quinones, has long covered the stories of Mexican immigrants from both sides of the border. His new book, "Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration," profiles these lives, revealing the complexities of the issues and motivations that surround the larger immigration story. Of particular local interest, although it’s the story of the changing face of America, this book also includes the remarkable story of how a western Kansas town came to rally around its almost all immigrant soccer team.

Our Books and Burritos event will include both burritos for attendees and a discussion lead by English professor Danny Alexander. RSVP to Susan McGarvey, 913-469-8500, ext. 4327, or smcgarvey@jccc.edu. This event is free and open to the public.