The Latino Midwest Symposium and Iowa Latino Conference are taking place in Iowa City October 11-13.
The University of Iowa Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, under the direction of three UofI professors (Claire Fox, Omar Valerio-Jimenez and Santiago Vaquera-Vasquez), organized the symposium which features a stellar lineup of academics well-versed in Midwest Latino influences across many fields.
The symposium will focus on the influences of this growing demographic, especially in unsuspecting Midwestern places, including Iowa. I imagine many will leave surprised by the significance Latinos, such as my own grandparents, have long-held in Iowa’s history. And many will leave animated about the future.
The symposium will also exhibit mostly Midwestern-situated art splattered with Latino flavor. All Symposium events are free, except for Lila Downs’ closing performance at the Englert Theatre. Famed fiction writer Junot Diaz will also grace the UofI campus with his presence, reading from his latest short story collection, “This is How You Lose Her”. While Mexicans outnumber other U.S. Latinos, the symposium aims to also recognize a rising Panlatinidad[1], even in the Midwest. Dominican Republican Diaz will be one way the symposium hopes to accomplish this.
The Iowa Latino Conference, organized by the UofI School of Social Work, summons Latino community members and youth from across the state while promoting cultural awareness. It will offer a Professional Development Institute and a Youth Summit.
This year bilingualism takes center stage. Ana Celia Zentella, Professor of Ethnic Studies, UCSD, and an expert on raising bilingual children in non-supportive environments, will keynote. The conference highlights the practice of a bilingual curriculum through a presentation from the West Liberty School District’s dual-language program which has been successful just South of here for 15 years.
I am extremely proud to represent West Wind on a Youth Summit planning committee that has responded to feedback from last year’s participants to craft a more interactive schedule this year. I am excited to interact with today’s youth as a small group facilitator in the many ice-breaking and identity development sessions during the summit.
It will be a great opportunity for me to vicariously experience what Latinidad is like for young people today. Students will spend Friday, October 12, learning more about their identities and how to more fully embrace them. This is an opportunity I missed as an Iowa high school student, but craved nonetheless. While I refuse to indicate just how long ago it was that I was in high school, I anticipate that much has changed. That is reflected in demographic findings of Latinos’ ethnicities, linguistic abilities, locations, rises up educational and socioeconomic as well as political scales. Students should leave, energized and proud of who they are/are becoming. All Conference sessions are free.
Registration is still open for the Latino Midwest symposium and the Latino Conference. If you cannot attend but want to “follow” the symposium virtually, the Twitter hashtag is #UILMW.