COCC celebrates Latinx Heritage Month with virtual events

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Central Oregon Community College’s Latinx student program is hosting a series of free virtual events in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month.

These events will include talks on indigenous languages, a primer for making ceviche and a film discussion of the award-winning “Ixcanul.” Information and registration for all events is available at bit.ly/COCCFeaturedLatinxEvents.

At noon on both Oct. 8 and 22, Lewis & Clark College’s Freddy O. Vilches, Ph.D., associate professor of Hispanic studies, will provide a lecture on the influence of indigenous languages on the Spanish of Latin America. The first lecture, Oct. 8, centers on Mexico and Central America (Nahuatl and Maya), while the second lecture, Oct. 22, focuses on the Caribbean and South America.

At 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, Claudia Bisso-Fetzer, Ph.D., COCC’s Latinx college prep coordinator, will lead a presentation on preparing ceviche mixto, considered to be Peru’s national dish. Learn the recipe and hear about some history of the area at this event.

At noon on Thursday, Oct. 29, join a film discussion of the award-winning “Ixcanul” (2016), which depicts daily lives of Kaqchikel-speaking Mayans on a coffee plantation, a chronicle of a disappearing tradition and a disappearing people. The film itself is available through the Kanopy streaming service and the Deschutes Public Library.

For more information on the events, contact Evelia Sandoval, Latinx program coordinator, at 541-318-3726 or esandoval@cocc.edu.