DANIELSON — Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized and celebrated each year at Quinebaug Valley Community College to honor the contributions of Latinos and Hispanics to the history and development of the United States.

The public is invited to attend both performances and admission is free. For more information call 860-932-4155.

This fall the college is sponsoring two free events, one at the 3rd Thursday Street Fest in Willimantic and the other at the Danielson campus.

The Puerto Rican folkloric music of Jose Diaz and Grupo Boriken can be heard from 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 21  on the North Stage at 3rd Thursday. The band of seven musicians, including two singers, will play the cuartro, guitar, congas, bongos, and guiro. 

From noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 23 the Core Ensemble brings its chamber music theatre performance of Tres Vidas to the auditorium at the college’s campus. Tres Vidas celebrates the lives of three legendary Latin American women: Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peasant activist Rufina Amaya, and Argentinean poet Alfonsina Storni. The audience will hear folk songs of Mexico, El Salvador, and Argentina as well as vocal and instrumental tangos. The three women are played by one actress. These events are sponsored by the college’s Cultural Programming Committee. 

 

According to member Elkin Espitia-Loaiza, professor of Spanish, many groups of Latinos have settled in the Windham area and made significant contributions to economic development. In fact, the Willimantic area has the largest presence of Latinos in the country.