La Voz Latina Celebrates Latino Heritage Month To Promote Culture, Joy

Ini-Oluwa Adegbayi ’28

News Editor

From Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, 2025, La Voz Latina (LVL) led Trinity College in celebrating Latino Heritage Month through a month-long series of events that combined community, culture and celebration. Co-presidents, Izabella Bautista ‘26, and Makayla Cervantes ‘26, oversaw a collection of events designed to “reflect multiple dimensions of identity, heritage, activism and joy.”

“For Latino Heritage Month this year, LVL planned a range of events that balanced community building, education, culture and celebration,” they said. “We began in September with a Meet the E-Board Mixer to welcome students, a movie on the quad and by providing financial support for the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Bushnell Park. We also visited Professor Aponte-Avile’s Latinx Legacy seminar to introduce students to LVL, and hosted Café con Leche: Know Your Rights to provide students with legal and advocacy resources. Cultural programming included Cocinando en Casa, a cooking night with AASA House and La Eracra, and first-year elections at La Eracra to build our e-board. In October, we shifted into larger-scale events with Noche de Rumba in collaboration with BRASA and I-House at the Mill, a keynote conversation with President Lugo on Latinidad and leadership, and our end of LHM Trinity community event at the Cornelia Center to close the month. As an e-board, we intentionally designed this calendar to reflect multiple dimensions of identity, heritage, activism and joy, while also collaborating with other organizations and departments to ensure that students had opportunities to celebrate, learn and lead.”

While the events were vibrant and diverse, the process of bringing them to life came with significant challenges. “Planning these events is a very intensive process. As co-presidents, we each dedicate at least three hours a day to coordinating logistics, outreach and programming throughout the month.” They also pointed out the lack of support they face, saying, “For at least the past three years, Latino Heritage Month at Trinity has been organized almost entirely by La Voz Latina rather than a broader heritage month committee, which means the responsibility often falls on our e-board during the busiest part of the semester.” They continued, “Unfortunately, departments like DEI and its offices, OMA and MAC, have historically not provided much support for Latino Heritage Month programming, even though they are involved in planning and promoting other heritage months and our programming is to their knowledge. As a result, LVL has often carried the work of planning, funding, and outreach on our own, which can feel disappointing given the purpose of these offices is to uplift and assist students in this kind of work.” 

For LVL, Latino Heritage Month carries a weight that extends beyond festivity. “Latino Heritage Month is incredibly important to LVL and to the campus community because it’s not just a time to celebrate; it’s also a response to what’s happening in the world right now. Having this month on campus gives us the chance to push back against that by creating spaces of visibility, joy and solidarity.” 

LVL’s approach to programming also centers on inclusion. “We really hope that for students who identify as Latino, these events make them feel like they have a safe space on campus where every part of who they are, their food, their culture, their language, their music, is celebrated and uplifted,” they said. “However, we also want to make sure non-Latino students know our programming is for everyone. These events are open invitations to learn, connect and celebrate with us. One thing I wish more people understood is that Latino culture is not monolithic. Latino’s don’t all look the same, share the same political views or even speak the same language. When these differences aren’t acknowledged, it can make some students feel like they don’t fully belong. At La Voz Latina, we’ve made it a priority to break down those barriers.”