Hispanic Heritage Month at the library

The library is observing Hispanic Heritage Month with several chances to celebrate the heritage and culture of the city’s largest minority community.

Unlike most national heritage months, Hispanic Heritage Month doesn’t officially begin until the middle of September, from Sept. 15. to Oct. 15. The start date was originally selected several years ago because five Latin American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua — declared independence from Spain on that date in 1821. The following day, Sept. 16, is Mexican Independence Day or Deiz y Seis. 

According to Public Outreach Librarian Deborah Carter, months that are designated to celebrate the heritage and culture of minority populations in America are more than a time for the public to celebrate, it’s also a time for the public’s institutions to evaluate their progress and standing in regards to minority populations.

“More than anything we try to use months like Hispanic Heritage Month to take a look and access where we are,” Carter said. “Are our collections matching the population? Is our programming having the outreach it needs to have? So they are reminders – to the staff of the library, the programmers, the community outreach partners and to the public – to keep things in mind, parts of our history and heritage.”

The library has lined up five programs for all age groups in the community to come out and celebrate Hispanic heritage and history through music, film and discussion.

The first event will be a discussion and presentation called Legends of Tejano Music with Hector Saldaña and Ramon Hernandez on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Tejano music is a genre steeped in Mexican folk roots as well as many other influences. Join Music Curator of the Wittliff Collection at Texas State University Hector Saldaña and Tejano collector and music journalist Ramon Hernandez as they discuss the the folkloric roots of Tejano and its connection to Mexico and rural Texas and California.

According to Saldaña, Tejano music often has misconceptions about where it originates from and what it has contributed to American culture at large – things like showmanship and musical form.

“I think something that gets lost in the conversation about Tejano music is that first and foremost it’s American music. Mexican-American music is something that is being performed by Americans, Saldaña said. “And some of the things that we take for granted in mainstream music has a connection to Latin music.”

Hernandez, who lives in San Antonio, has a deep tie to Tejano music, having befriended multiple Tejano music stars throughout his career from singer and actress Rosita Fernandez and accordionist Flaco Jiménez to guitarist and singer Lydia Mendoza. Hernandez recently donated his sizable personal collection to the Wittliff Collection, making it one of the largest Tejano music collections in the country. The Legends of Tejano Music presentation is sponsored by the LifeLong Learning Organization of San Marcos.

The next Hispanic Heritage Month event at the library will be a family-friendly fiesta with special musical guest Mariachi Nueva Generación from Texas State University's Latin Music Studies program.

¡Mariachi y Mas! will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mariachi Nueva Generación, considered one of the leading university mariachis in Texas, will play in the library foyer starting at 10 a.m. After their performance, Cuéntame Bilingual Storytime reader Gigi Mederos will lead children in a very special bilingual storytime program and children will have the opportunity to create their very own papel picado – tissue paper flowers – to take home and decorate the library with for Hispanic Heritage Month.

For Mederos though, the event will also help highlight the library as the unique cultural center in the library for bilingual books, films and programs.

“More than anything I think this event is a good introduction to the library as a friendly place no matter what language you speak,” Mederos said. “I think it’s an opportunity to show that we have a beautiful bilingual Spanish collection for both children and adults.”

Mano Amiga, local grass-roots immigration advocacy group, will be hosting a film screening and discussion of “Under the Same Moon” on Monday, Oct. 2, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. “Under the Same Moon” is a film about a single mother who leaves her young son in the care of his grandmother and crosses the border into the U.S. in hopes of a better life for herself and her son. Special guests from Mano Amiga will shed light on the plight of immigrants who have personally taken this journey.

Gene Randall, KZSM station manager and host of the radio program Indigenous Freedom Radio, will host a presentation on Thursday, Oct. 11 from 7 - 8 p.m. called Indigenous Perspectives on Racism. Randall will discuss the exclusion and inaccurate depictions of indigenous peoples all over the world in history books. His talk will focus on the cultural heritage and the contributions that indigenous people have made to modern society.

The final Hispanic Heritage Month program to be held at the library will be an interactive lecture with local author Dr. Irma Guadarrama. Guadarrama will present the lecture “Struggles of Women from Central America in Search of a New Life” on Monday, Oct. 15 from 7 to 8 p.m. 

Her talk will center around her research and actual hands-on experience working with women in Central America seeking asylum. Her 45-year career as an educator, photographer and immigration advocate along the U.S. Mexico border and in South America has provided her insight on the issues and root problems concerning the migration of the women from Central America who are dealing with social and political concerns.

Guadarrama published a book earlier this year titled “In the Shadow of the Half Moon: Struggles of Women from Central America in Search of a New Life,” that retells the stories of six women migrants and their journeys. She mapped out a timeline of the political upheavals, eruptions, crises, disappearances, gang violence and massacres of the Northern Triangle countries of Central America – Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Her presentation will be followed by a Q & A session.

For more information on the San Marcos Public Library’s Hispanic Heritage Month programs, go to their website.