By Roman Raymundo

Latin@ Week is an opportunity for Adelante! to increase Latin@ visibility on campus. (Ed. note: Latin@ refers to both latinos and latinas.) Adelante! students organize this week to raise awareness and educate the Macalester community in topics relevant to Latin@s through intentional dialogue. For the week, the organization focuses on a theme that is reflected on during weekly meetings throughout the semester. This year, Adelante! is engaging with the theme of Art and Social Change. The goal during Latin@ Week is to express opinions in daily events, which are described below. These events will help facilitate conversations about the impact of art in Latin@ communities. All events are open to the Macalester community. Collaborative Student Mural
The Collaborative Mural will be open to all Macalester students. This is an open event that will allow Macalester students to engage in visual conversation about Art and Social Justice. It is an opportunity to have a visual dialogue, in order to engage our artistic, physical, and emotional senses.

Keynote Speaker Favianna Rodriguez
Adelante! invited Favianna Rodriguez as the keynote speaker in order to provide support and guide in reflecting about Art and Social Change. Favianna is an internationally recognized artist who specializes in silkscreen prints in order to produce posters. Her art has been highly influential and has received critical acclaim in the U.S. She created the posters for International Migrant’s Day, and has participated in a variety of conferences, community events and highly respected organizations such as INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. Though her art has personal meanings, she has consistently focused on social issues relating to immigration, community, imperialism, racism, sexuality, war, and human rights. She has also created posters focusing on violence against women.

Student Art Show
In order to keep with the theme of the week, this event highlights student artwork. The show features Latin@ students but pieces that relate to Latin@ history, issues, community, social justice, etc. are also included. If you are interested in displaying artwork relating to the Latin@ community nationally and abroad you are more than welcome to submit paintings, sculpture, photographs, crafts – the list is endless. Please contact Roman Raymundo, [email protected] by Monday March 29th.

West Side St. Paul Visit
In 1980 the first mural was painted on the West Side of Saint Paul on Morgen’s Grocery, in order to gain recognition of Latin@ artists. Now this mural stands with many others in the neighborhood. Community initiatives have encouraged murals that reflect relevant issues that address the community in the West Side. Adelante! will visit these murals in order to learn about the impact of art in this community.

A Prayer for Juarez Vigil
Along with the theme of Art and Social Change, Adente! has also engaged in dialogue about the violence against women, more specifically the femicides occurring in Juarez. Adelante! members have personally invested in this delicate and inexcusable dilemma occurring right next door, across the border. In order for us to be committed to the topic we have dedicated time in our weekly meetings. The dialogue will further develop in other events this week. From Monday March 29th to the 31st, you will notice crosses in the lawns in front of the Campus Center. The following mission statement explains our intention through this public display:
For nearly 20 years, women have been the victims of femicide on the U.S. Mexican Border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. The violent murders committed against women are the result of sexual torture. There is currently no system in place to protect these women, as the state has not taken any responsibility to account for this violence. Una Oracion por Juarez (A Prayer for Juarez) is an initiative of Activist art across the U.S. and Mexico that works to raise awareness of the violence against women Juarez. We are using protest art to recognize the strength and courage of these women, past and present, and to bring a voice to their silenced stories.

An Afternoon in Argentina
Come join Adelante! for a night of fun and socializing while learning about the many faces of Argentina. There will be different stations to practice Spanish; learn the Argentine Poker, “Truco”; become a professional mate-drinker; listen to live Argentine Music; watch a famous Argentine movie; and more importantly have a “taste” of Argentina, by buying some of our delicious, home-made Argentine Specialties (Empanadas, Alfajores, Dulce de Leche pie, etc). The organization is asking for donations (basically anything you can give) to support the Argentine UWC national committee. All earnings will be sent to Argentina, and the money will be put towards completing all partial scholarships given to Argentina this year. In this way we will make sure that there is no economic selection of next year’s candidates: all the award recipients will have a full scholarship no matter their economic background.

Performance and Dance
Adelante! members are preparing performances for your entertainment. This includes but is not limited to traditional dances, drag, reggeaton, salsa, singing, acting, spoken word and poetry. Adelante! is also inviting acts from the Twin Cities community. After the show there will be a blown-out dance!