In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, which runs from September 15-October 15, 2022, Illinois State University’s Latin American and Latino/a Studies (LALS) will feature talks from nationally known authors and scholars, a national museum director, and lectures and panels with alumni, faculty, and community members discussing topics surrounding identity.
All events are free and open to the public.
Internationally acclaimed author Reyna Grande will give a Community Book Lecture based on her recent book, A Ballad of Love and Glory, set during the Mexican American War in the 1840s.
Grande is the author of the bestselling memoir, The Distance Between Us, (2012) where she writes about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. Her books have been adopted as the common reading selection by schools, colleges, and cities across the country.
Grande has been honored with an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and the International Latino Book Award. In 2012, she was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Awards. In 2015 she was honored with a Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature and a Latino Spirit Award in 2021. The young reader’s version of The Distance Between Us received a 2017 Honor Book Award for the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature and a 2016 Eureka! Honor Awards from the California Reading Association, and an International Literacy Association Children’s Book Award 2017.
Find out more about the Grande talk.
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture lecture
October 18, 2022
7 p.m.
Williams Hall, room 307, Illinois State University campus
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<p>Billy Ocasio is the current president and chief executive officer of the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago (NMPRAC), which is devoted to the promotion, integration, and advancement of Puerto Rican arts and culture. The museum presents exhibitions and programming created to enhance the visibility and importance of the rich Puerto Rican arts tradition. </p>
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