News

St. Olaf College marked Hispanic Heritage Month this fall with a series of events that blended tradition, scholarship, performance, celebration, and community engagement. 

From the vibrant kick-off event on Mellby Lawn and student-led dance nights to the return of the North Central Council of Latin Americanists (NCCLA) conference and a culminating music celebration, the month-long celebration highlighted both the long-standing presence of Latin American Studies on campus and the growth of the college’s Latinx community. 

Hispanic Heritage Month opened with a campus-wide celebration on Mellby Lawn. The event featured an electrifying performance by a troupe of Aztec dancers, Kalpulli Huitzillin Danza Circle, drawing students and community members to learn more about Indigenous traditions through rhythm, movement, and ceremony. Delicious Pupusas, a popular vendor out of Faribault, served fresh pupusas throughout the event, adding to the festive atmosphere. 

This year’s Hispanic Heritage Month also coincided with a major academic moment for St. Olaf: the return of the North Central Council of Latin Americanists (NCCLA) conference, held on the Hill for the fourth time. The gathering celebrated a historic milestone — the 50th anniversary of Latin American Studies at St. Olaf. 

“We first hosted the NCCLA conference in the 1980s,” Professor of Romance Languages (Spanish) and Co-Director of Latin American Studies León Narváez says. “This year’s conference was a nice way to culminate our celebration of the 50 years of Latin American Studies at St. Olaf. We had St. Olaf faculty members and students who presented at the conference, and being able to interact with so many other people interested in Latin America, who represented a variety of disciplines, made the conference memorable for us.”

At the conference, the St. Olaf community celebrated an important recognition as Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Patricia Boldt Distinguished Teaching Professor of the Humanities Kristina Medina-Vilarino and her Caribbean Studies Network received the organization’s Award of Merit. Another highlight came at the conference luncheon, where Emeritus Associate Professor of Spanish Frank Odd, one of the original members of the Latin American Studies Committee in the 1970s, returned to honor the program’s legacy. 

“Approximately 10 percent of our students have family roots in Latin America,” Narváez says. “It was evident at the conference how much interest there is in Latin American culture and in addressing issues important to the region. St. Olaf continues to be a welcoming environment for students, faculty and staff of Hispanic background.”

The academic centerpiece of the NCCLA conference was a keynote lecture by John Tutino, a professor in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Department of History — and a former St. Olaf faculty member. 

“This is where I learned how to teach,” he said. “My colleagues emphasized that teaching was not telling students what to think, but challenging them to become independent thinkers.”

Tutino delivered a talk titled Mexico in the World: Making Capital, Seeking Sustainable Lives, Facing Exclusions and Migrations, a sweeping historical explanation of Mexico’s central role in the making of global capitalism.

His lecture traced how silver mined in New Spain fueled global trade, how rural families and communities shaped economic systems through maize cultivation and resistance movements, and how gender shaped 19th–century political and economic transformations. Linking the past to current debates about migration, inequality, and power, Tutino urged the audience to contextualize the present within deep historical structures. 

“If there is a chance at a more humane world, we have to recognize the fundamental nature of the historic transformations that generated our current world of power and exclusion,” he said. 

On September 27, the student organization ¡Presente! hosted Puro Pari, a high-energy night of dancing and Latin music that welcomed the broader campus community. Designed as an inclusive social gathering, the event brought students from different backgrounds together on the dance floor to celebrate Latin American rhythms and the diversity of Latinx cultures represented at St. Olaf. 

Hispanic Heritage Month concluded on October 10 with Raíces, a collaborative Latin American music celebration in Urness Recital Hall. Featuring 26 performers – including St. Olaf students, faculty, alumni, and guest artists – the concert showcased music from across Latin America. 

The event, led by Moisés Duarte V ‘26, was co-sponsored by the Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion, the Spanish Program, the Northfield Public Library, ¡Presente!, and student organization SOMOS. 

“Raíces is envisioned as a cultural, social, and political statement,” Duarte says. “Raíces seeks to unify different communities in Northfield—students, faculty, staff, Viking Terrace residents, Stav workers, and members of the larger community—through the shared power of Latin American music.”

The program highlighted works connected to themes of migration, identity, resilience, and collective memory. 

“Latin American music has historically been a vessel for societal change — a voice for those silenced, a tool for dignity, and a source of hope in the face of displacement and oppression,” Duarte says. “That is the spirit we hope the event embodies. The repertoire seeks to reflect our struggles, and also bring us together across borders and backgrounds.”

From the first drum beats on Mellby Lawn to the final notes of Raíces, this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month programming showcased the strength and vibrancy of the Latin American and Latinx communities at St. Olaf. It also reflected the college’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning, community partnerships, and cultural celebration.