Hermana y Hermano (H&H) collaborated with Hermandad De Sigma Iota Alpha Incorporada (SIA), the Multicultural Center and the Student Activities Board (SAB) to celebrate the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month.

“El Grito” is a tradition marking the start of Mexican Independence Day celebrations. The holiday, translating to “the scream,” typically consists of a presidential ringing of the same bell the father of Mexican independence, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, rang in 1810 to signify a revolution against the Spanish. 

In honor of El Grito, H&H, with the help of other student organizations, planned an event to celebrate and educate students about Hispanic history and culture at Arkansas State University. 

The event took place in the Heritage Plaza Lawn outside the Reng Student Union and featured Latin music, authentic Mexican cuisine catered by the Casa Maya restaurant, a zumba dance lesson and a Hispanic Heritage Hunt, with the winner receiving a free merchandise bag. 

The scavenger hunt allowed students to learn more about Hispanic culture through trivia, historical facts and educational material as well as information about the collaborating organizations present. 

Heidy Bulbarela-Hernandez, a senior graphic design major from Stuttgart, Arkansas, is the president of H&H and vice president for SIA. She said the event means a lot to her as president because the organization is undergoing changes. 

“We are expanding to be a Latin cultural club so we want to host more international students and just anyone who is interested in Latin culture,” Bulbarela-Hernandez said. “I think this month is very important to us in our expansion and awareness.” 

Bulbarela-Hernandez said El Grito encompasses various aspects of Hispanic culture such as music, food and style of dance.

“It just means a lot that we get to share that with the public and just have fun with it,” Bulbarela-Hernandez said.  

The event allowed campus student connections through learning about peoples’ cultures and historical celebrations.

Braylan Childs, a senior exercise science major from Jonesboro, is the arts and cultural director for SAB. In this role, he is responsible for organizing and planning cultural and traditional events. He said the collaboration originated from an invitation from SIA, which led to the successful event of fun and exciting activities.

 “Since SAB does not have a sure spokesperson for this community, we wanted to reach out to someone who does,” Childs said.

Taysia Johnson, a senior interdisciplinary studies major with an emphasis in education and liberal arts from Jonesboro, is an ambassador for the Multicultural Center. She said this year they want to increase collaboration with other organizations to involve more students in campus activities and events.

“We (all the organizations involved with collaborating) came up with the idea of doing the El Grito event so we could bring in a lot of people together and to just get different students to interact with one another,” Johnson said. 

Johnson said that the A-State campus is growing, and that various cultures are increasing in the campus community too because of it.

“Events like this allows us to see what everyone does different and see where we can support each other,” Johnson said. 

The El Grito event allowed students in the A-State community to build connections in sharing with each other of their heritage and culture.

“There’s lot of diversity on campus and we don’t necessarily intermingle,” Childs said. “So, having an opportunity to hang out and learn a little bit about the other cultures on campus is just really good to see come to fruition.”

Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month will continue with other events from Hispanic organizations on campus throughout September and October.

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