Greater Madison is gearing up for Hispanic Heritage Month, a national celebration held each year from Sept. 15–Oct. 15 to highlight the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx Americans. The observance coincides with the independence days of several Latin American countries, including Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras, all on Sept. 15, as well as Mexico and Chile on Sept. 16 and 18, respectively.
We spoke with a few local organizations to preview their plans to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in the coming weeks and discuss the resources they offer to support Hispanic and Latinx populations across the Madison area. While the list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a taste of what the Madison community can look forward to over the next month and throughout the year.
Latino Professionals Association
The Latino Professionals Association (LPA) creates opportunities for recognition, elevation, and connection among Madison’s Latinx professionals, supporting its members through leadership development, career and personal growth, and civic engagement. The organization last year celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with its Brindis Del Exito event, which recognized LPA’s 10th anniversary as well as the accomplishments of Latinx individuals.
This year, LPA board chair Mathias Lemos Castillo and board member Daniel Guerra Jr. spotlight the return of the association’s annual Yo Soy campaign, as well as the ways in which LPA supports Latinx professionals on a regular basis.
Says Castillo, “We want to showcase folks here in Madison and what they’re contributing to the greater good … This is a group of folks that often don’t get that recognition, or don’t even have that space to get recognized.” He adds that LPA works “to create a platform for them that allows them to be able to feel seen.”
Yo Soy is one of the key ways LPA highlights Latinx individuals in the area. The campaign, held in collaboration with The Capital Times, kicks off in September–October each year and honors four professionals and their transformative accomplishments in the workplace.
Says Guerra, “A lot of what we focus on is recognizing Latino professionals and their environment … whether that’s a leader within an organization, or somebody in product development or sales, or some kind of engagement role but [who is] really looking to change what companies look like and how they’re led.”
According to Castillo, LPA has recognized 40 professionals so far, and individuals are selected from a variety of industries. “We try to diversify in terms of who we’re highlighting,” he says. “We want to be able to [show] different sectors — Latinos in tech, Latinos in finance … so folks can see the different types of work Latinos are doing here.”
Guerra adds, “We’ve got emerging Latino labor leaders, and we’ve got young professionals that are working at private sector industries … We’ve had some amazing nonprofit professionals that have risen to the top. So, we’ve got some great diversity, and we’ve had a really intentional way of recognizing the contributions of Latinas, in addition to Latino men.”
For LPA, however, celebrating and elevating Latinx professionals goes beyond the annual campaign kickoff and Hispanic Heritage Month, and Guerra emphasizes that it’s only one way LPA supports the community. Much of the organization’s focus is on helping members build financial literacy, and LPA offers an investment club to put that knowledge to work. The organization also participates in community service efforts, supports area athletics, and promotes civic engagement — particularly critical this year with the approaching election.
“I don’t want to oversell what we do,” says Guerra, “but we’ve been doing a lot. We’re not just about networking and happy hours. We’re about engaging our members and creating value.”
Organizing for understanding
Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development, better known as the nonprofit LOUD, has been celebrating Latinx art and artists since its establishment in 2016 by founder and director Oscar Mireles, well known for his work as executive director and principal of Omega School, which helps young adults obtain their GEDs. Mireles is also known for his selection as poet laureate for the city of Madison from 2016–2020, his long history of commitment to local arts, and his service on the boards of several local organizations.
LOUD represents a statewide initiative that promotes collaboration between Latino arts and service organizations. The organization has coordinated the Latino Art Fair at Overture Center for the Arts for the past three years — most recently celebrating the 10th annual event over Cinco de Mayo weekend — the LOUD Gallery at Omega Schools, and a variety of pop-up events.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month 2024, Omega School’s LOUD Gallery will host a Latino Youth Art exhibition featuring the artwork of Dane County young people ages 12–21. Themed “Celebrating the History of the Latino Culture,” the exhibition will include submissions of visual art, photography, and mixed media.
Mireles explains that part of the purpose of the exhibition, to be attended by Madison youth as well as their families and supporters, is to help young artists learn about art as a professional aspiration. “When you’re young, you kind of see art as something you like doing … [but] how do you transition into something that somebody might buy?”
He says it’s important to display art and have others see it is part of the learning process, noting there’s a difference between the artwork and “the business of doing art.”
In partnership with PBS Wisconsin, LOUD will also screen the documentary Profe, which focuses on the Latine educational revolution in Minnesota, starting with the 1970s Chicano Movement and continuing with its impact today. The event will be held on Monday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m., in the PBS Wisconsin studio space at Vilas Communications Hall, 821 University Ave. The film’s director and producer, Sergio Mata’u Rapu, a native of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and a filmmaker known for works like Eating Up Easter, will be present at the event.
Mireles says the film screening is a great opportunity for community members to see a film that just came out earlier this year, and to learn and connect.
Following Hispanic Heritage Month, Mireles adds that LOUD will host a Dia de los Muertos Children’s Celebration on Nov. 23 in collaboration with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO). The event will feature the Latino Arts String program from Milwaukee — which Mireles helped found roughly 40 years ago — and culminate with a screening of Disney’s Coco, with the musical score performed by MSO.
“There’s interest in bringing in diverse art,” says Mireles, “but you also need to bring in a diverse audience. Part of it is increasing visibility and seeing that we have more in common than our differences … and encouraging people to get out of their comfort zone and see something they might not have thought of.”
Hosting art
Dane County’s largest nonprofit serving the Latinx community is Centro Hispano, which works to engage residents, empower youth, and strengthen families to achieve personal and professional goals. According to Centro’s executive director, Karen Menéndez Coller, each year the organization works with roughly 7,000 individuals belonging to the Latinx community — the fastest growing group not only in Madison and Dane County, but statewide and across the nation.
To Coller, the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month to Centro and the community it serves is multifaceted. “For us, this month is about recommitting to their well-being, acknowledging their strengths, and celebrating our heritage as we shape the future of Greater Madison.”
Coller also notes several forthcoming activities that Centro will host at its new south Madison facility. The organization will celebrate the arts, hosting international artist Tavo Garavato to kick off the month, and hold a celebration for muralist Carina Vargas Nuñez, daughter of Lucia Nuñez, past Centro executive director and Madison College leader, to conclude the month.
In addition, Centro will host award- winning poet and performer Denice Frohman on Thursday, Sept. 26, for the organization’s annual Evening of Dreaming event, which celebrates community, creativity, and personal potential. Last year’s event, held at Centro’s former location, was centered around mobility, journaling, and joy, and it featured special guest Tía Leah, co-founder and CEO of People’s Yoga, an East Los Angeles yoga studio and community.
“To close out the month,” Coller goes on, “we are planning a conversation with local and national partners around the state about the Latinx community in Wisconsin [in] mid-October, getting everyone engaged to support our future as we prepare for the next national election.”
Centro will continue to host its weekly Mercadito, a community market held Thursdays from 4–7 p.m., offering traditional Latin-American products from local producers, as well as live performances by local musicians. Like Castillo, Guerra, and Mireles, Coller stresses that celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month is only a starting point for Centro, reinvigorating its efforts to serve the community year round. “Hispanic Heritage Month brings us together, but it is only a first step of awareness,” she says, adding, “When this awareness leads to a deeper understanding, that’s impact.”
