Jose Giocamea

UNC Asheville will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month September 15-October 15 with two guest lectures and a performance by flamenco dancers. All events are free and open to the public.

Andres Lara, aka “The Cuban Guy,” will discuss “How to Move Forward When You Feel Like Quitting” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Café. Lara fled Cuba when he was 16 and came to America penniless and homeless. Now at age 24, Lara is the CEO of A. Success Training, a well-known speaker and a millionaire. He is the author of “Inspire the Sleeping Giant Within” and “How to Stay Motivated During Difficult Times.”

Noted flamenco dancer Jose Giocamea will perform at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, on the UNC Asheville Quad. Giocamea, whose stage name is Jose de Guadalupe, descends from a long line of Mexican and Padcua Yaqui Indian dancers. He began studying flamenco dance in Spain in the early 1990s and since has performed throughout the United States and Spain. Giocamea is president of Flamenco Arts Cultural Development located in Greenville, S.C.

James H. Johnson Jr., director of the UNC Chapel Hill Urban Investment Strategies Center, will discuss “What to Expect in the Interethnic Workplace” at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, in UNC Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Johnson’s primary research focuses on the causes and consequences of growing inequality in American society as well as business demography and workforce diversity issues. A prolific author, Johnson’s latest book is “Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles.”

For more information, call UNC Asheville’s Multicultural Events and Organizations Office at
828/232-5110.