This year the Institute for Latino Studies is proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its founding. The celebration will take place on Friday, April 17, in Corbett Family Hall’s Downes Club on campus.
ILS’s 20th anniversary celebration will feature a main program from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., an evening cocktail party and, to cap off the night, a performance by Mariachi Herencia de México from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30pm at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
Dr. Cárdenas
The Latin Grammy-nominated group of young musicians from Chicago are known for their dynamic reworking of this festive folk style native to Mexico. At the same time they pay homage to its long tradition, collaborating with veteran superstars like Aida Cuevas and Pedro Fernández. In selecting Mariachi Herencia de México, the ILS seeks to highlight the continuing contributions and cultural resiliency of Latinos at Notre Dame across generations.
Dr. Fraga
In 1999, the ILS opened its doors under the direction of Gilberto Cárdenas, a professor of Sociology who came to Notre Dame from the University of Texas at Austin. Cárdenas, who earned his doctorate at Notre Dame under pioneering scholar Julián Samora, was chosen following a two-year process by a special committee tasked with devising a Hispanic American Studies Program at Notre Dame.
Former Director
Dr. José Limón
Since then, the ILS has grown to offer a variety of academic and cultural programs to the Notre Dame community. Students can major and minor in Latino studies and further their professional goals through summer internship programs and other opportunities. In addition, the ILS brings renowned scholars and thinkers from around the country to speak at Notre Dame.
Former Co-Director
Dr. Timothy Matovina
Under the leadership of Luis Fraga, the Institute for Latino Studies continues to strive to fulfill Cárdenas’s dream of making Notre Dame “the premier place in the nation” for Latino Studies.
Says Fraga, “Leaders at the University of Notre Dame had the vision to better understand the role that growing Latino communities would have on the Catholic Church and the country as a whole. Twenty years later we continue to build on this vision to support the best research, teaching and service for the ever-growing and ever-changing Latina/o/x communities in the U.S.”.
At the anniversary celebration, current and past leaders, alumni and students will share the impact the ILS has had on their lives and the Notre Dame community. A very special guest to be announced in the coming weeks will give the keynote address.
To RSVP for the celebration, go to https://bit.ly/38O0NM8
Originally published by at latinostudies.nd.edu on January 30, 2020.