Uptown Oxford will be filled with more than just Miami University students looking for a little fun after class Friday, Sept. 11 as both the Miami and Oxford communities celebrate the seventh annual Latin American and Caribbean UniDiversity Festival, with a special focus on Miami faculty in honor of the bicentennial.
The festival, which is co-sponsored by the Center for American and World Cultures (CAWC) and the Office of Diversity Affairs, will kick off Friday evening with a welcome from Oxford Mayor Prue Dana. Then, two bands, New Brazil and Son del Caribe, are scheduled to play with an intermission performance by Cuban dancers.
All of the scheduled acts include Miami faculty. One of the participants is Jaime Morales-Matos, trombonist for Son del Caribe and associate professor of music at Miami.
"It is a way to share different cultures … and what better way to do it than (with) music and food?" Morales-Matos said.
The festival is a celebration of the Latin American and Caribbean cultures, complete with the live music, food, dancing, craft vendors, children's activities, prizes and plenty of information from these areas of the world.
It also happens to coincide with National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Currently, Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States, according to the 2000 U.S. census. The CAWC at Miami is addressing the need to understand this rapidly emerging culture.
Jacqueline Rioja Velarde, assistant director for CAWC, said she is encouraging students to attend the event, this year especially, to learn more about the Latin American culture.
"We need to create a more inclusive environment on our campus," Velarde said. "We need a better partnership between cultures in our community."
Miami sophomore Jenna Stern, who is one quarter Mexican, said she agreed it would be valuable for students to attend the festival.
"Many people look at me and laugh when I say that I have Mexican background," Stern, a fair-skinned blonde, said. "So, I think if and when people attend this festival, it will be a perfect way for students to see that people come from all sorts of backgrounds that they may not have been aware of."
Based on the estimated 2,000 people who attended 2008's festival, Velarde said she expects the turnout this year to be even larger.
"This festival is bigger than just the Oxford community, it's attracting the whole county," Velarde said.
The seventh annual Latin American and Caribbean UniDiversity Festival will take place from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 at Uptown Park.
