Texarkana College Honors Hispanic Heritage Month with Virtual Celebrations

September 15-October 15 is designated as National Hispanic Heritage Month and Texarkana College has a line-up of virtual events that will be featured on TC’s website and social media pages throughout the month. Virtual celebrations will include student and alumni spotlights; cooking demonstrations of authentic Hispanic cuisine by TC Culinary Arts students and Instructor/Executive Chef Sheila Lynn; art history segments and painting techniques by TC’s art instructor, Angela Melde; recommended readings and literature selections from TC’s lead librarian, LaMoya Burks; and more.

Burks, who serves on the American Library Association’s Pura Belpré Expansion Task Force for the identification of excellence in Latino children’s literature, said TC’s library display represents portrayal of the Hispanic experience in literature.

“We selected the books to feature in TC’s library display to show expressions of Hispanic culture demonstrated through literature that are relevant to our community and our students,” said Burks. “The display includes titles such as Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan who won the Pura Belpré Award for Writing, and The Poet X, a New York Times bestseller novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. There’s something for everyone to enjoy!”

Chef Sheila Lynn said TC Culinary students are learning about techniques used to prepare authentic dishes including Elote (Mexican Street Corn), Bionico (Mexican Fruit Salad with Cream), Tacos, and Shrimp Cocktails.

“We will video the step-by-step preparation of each of these authentic dishes so you can learn to prepare them yourself at home,” said Lynn. “TC Culinary students are learning about the different methods of preparing food from Hispanic origins and we are excited to share the techniques with our community.”

National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States was established for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the commemoration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Hispanic countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, who all declared independence in 1821.

Video segments will be rolled out throughout the month and can be accessed by visiting www.texarkanacollege.edu or on TC’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels.