The Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies Program (LACAS) and Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) came together to wrap up Latin Heritage Month.

This past Wednesday, LACAS hosted an open house with the MRC, titled “Pasados Y Futuros: Una Historia De LACAS,” which translates to Pasts and Futures: A History of LACAS. The event highlighted the history of LACAS and gave students more insight into the major and minor programs it offers.

Giovanna Montenegro, director of LACAS and an associate professor of comparative literature, described what she wanted attendees to take away from the event. Montenegro said the event is connected to Harpur Week 2022 — a seven-day series of events designed for students to explore Harpur College’s academic and extracurricular opportunities within their field of interest, according to the Harpur College website.

“We hope attendees get to see what a rich and diverse program we offer for majors and minors, and also have them understand the larger ties to the broader Latinx community in Binghamton,” Montenegro wrote in an email. “This is a great way to kick off ‘Fall in Love with Harpur Week’ and get to know the LACAS major and minor. Even if you are already an advanced student in your individual major, it’s a great chance to connect with many student [organizations] and on-campus resources.”

The event included faculty presentations and videos, along with tables from on-campus organizations and programs, raffles and giveaways. Organizers served food from La Isla and played Latin music, while students and guests interacted with other student organizations at their tables. The Study Abroad Program, Latin American Student Union, Black Student Union, Quimbamba Latin Dance Team, Corazoncitos, Men of Color Scholastic Society and Haitian Student Association were some of the many organizations tabling the event.

Also featured during the event was an award ceremony for the LACAS Pillar of the Community Award. The award was presented to Ferdinand Montalvo, the first Latino program director of LACAS, from 1981 to 1982. Montalvo’s work “contributed [to] and uplifted the Latin American and Caribbean communities on campus,” according to Montenegro.

Upon accepting his award, Montalvo shared his experiences of being Latino in America.

“Here, it is a Latino born in New York up in the twilight zone of Binghamton servicing all these communities, and all they see is the white skin but they hear an accent in my voice,” Montalvo said. “What you hear is the song in my voice, most Latinos have a song in their voice, that’s the accent that they may hear, we may not distinguish it but we have our song in our voice.”

LACAS played a video compilation of faculty expressing their opinions on the importance of the LACAS program. One of the faculty members, Nancy Appelbaum, former director of LACAS and a history professor, explained LACAS’ role in the University.

“LACAS was created as a result of student activism in 1973 by mostly Puerto Rican [and] other Latinx students, in alliance with Black students, who wanted programs that reflected their reality and taught their heritage,” Appelbaum said.

Giveaways were hosted throughout the event where students could win prizes, such as gift cards and apparel, by answering questions based on the history of the LACAS program and what it has to offer to students in terms of educational opportunities and benefits. There was also a faculty panel with professors, where panelists discussed courses at BU.

Amiya Castro, ‘22, a LACAS graduate assistant, LACAS alumna and the main hostess for this event, discussed how LACAS has helped her grow as a student.

“The main purpose of the event is to increase the visibility and retention of the Latin American communities,” Castro said. “I believe a LACAS major provides a different foundation from other programs. I think we think different and I think it gives us a different perspective. Being a LACAS major — being one of the only LACAS majors — people not even knowing what LACAS is, especially not my faculty, not my professors, definitely not my peers.”

Melanie Valentin, president of Corazoncitos and a junior majoring in sociology, talked about her personal experiences with LACAS and how she believes the open house will help other students connect with each other.

“I worked with LACAS last semester and I really like what they do on campus,” Valentin said. “They really bring a lot of Latin American communities here together. I feel like there’s a lot of freshmen here that are kind of like interested or trying to find like a group or a home away from home, so doing events like this are really important.”

Editors Note (10/24/22): A previous version of this article stated that Montalvo received his Pillars of Community Award for his work with LACAS. Montalvo received the award for his work with WHRW. The article has been updated with the corrected information.