UNCA Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
with a Variety of Programs

UNC Asheville will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a variety of cultural and educational programs. Highlights include a comedic performance by Adrian Villegas of the Latino Comedy Project and a talk by a Mayan scholar. All events are free and open to the public.

-- Comedian Adrian Villegas will perform his one-man show, "Barrio Daze" at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, in UNCA’s Humanities Lecture Hall. The show takes a comedic look at nine Hispanic cultural and racial stereotypes. Villegas is the founder of the award-winning Latino Comedy Project based in Austin, Texas. He has performed at the Latino Comedy Festival and at Chicago’s Mexican-American Fine Arts Center Museum, among others. Villegas’ work has been profiled in "Hispanic" magazine and on National Public Radio.

-- The Asheville Community Theatre will stage "Bodas de Sangre" ("Blood Wedding") at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at 35Below, 35 Walnut St., Asheville. The Spanish-language production is directed by Greta Trautmann, UNCA assistant professor of Spanish. Written by Garcia Lorca, "Bodas de Sangre" was first performed in 1933 and is credited with restoring Spanish poetry to the stage. The play is the true story of a bride who ran away with her lover on her wedding night. Set in rural Spain, the play focuses on themes of family, loyalty, love, hope and despair.

-- UNCA will host a Hispanic Culinary Appreciation Dinner from 4:45-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, at UNCA’s Dining Hall. Traditional Hispanic foods will be served. Admission is $5 or is included in the UNCA Meal Card.

-- Betty Swinners, CEO of Diversity Speakers, will present a talk on "Hispanics 101" at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, in UNCA’s Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. Swinners, a motivational speaker, has been recognized as "One of Texas’ Most Influential Women" by Texas Hispanic Magazine. She was also inducted into "The Hispanic Women’s Hall of Fame" by Hispanic Women in Leadership" and is the co-author of "Tortilla Soup," a collection of inspirational Latino stories.

-- Jose Antonio Otzoy, a Kakchiquel Mayan theologian and poet, will discuss "Social Justice in 21st Century Guatemala: The Role of Mayan Culture and Mayan Spiritual Understandings" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in UNCA’s Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. Otzoy has spent his life as a student of indigenous spirituality and has consulted with Maya priests and elders in Mayan communities throughout Guatemala. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church of Guatemala and is an adjunct faculty member in Maya spirituality at Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana in San Jose, Costa Rica and at the Reformed Seminary in Mexico City. During the last 20 years he has worked closely with the internationally known Maya poet Julia Esquivel, exploring the roots of Maya culture and faith.

For more information about UNCA’s Hispanic Heritage month, call UNCA’s Multicultural Student Affairs Office at 828/232-5110.

Media Contacts:

• Deirdre Wiggins, Multicultural Student Programs Director, 828/232-5110
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526