Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration from September 15 to October 15 dedicated to recognizing the rich contributions and achievements of Hispanic and Latino Americans throughout the country's history. The monthlong celebration provides an opportunity to highlight the Hispanic and Latino community's struggles, triumphs and cultural impact, fostering a deeper understanding of the Hispanic and Latino American experience.
At Rice University, we are enthusiastic about creating a dynamic and vibrant celebration that goes beyond traditional narratives, showcasing the diverse facets of Hispanic and Latino culture. Rice University recognizes the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month in fostering a sense of belonging, inclusivity and visibility within the Hispanic and Latino community. The institution is committed to exploring new possibilities, fostering fresh ideas, and encouraging contributions that ensure the next generation inherits the resilience and strength needed to prosper.
The celebration at Rice includes a carefully planned series of events, discussions and festivities, highlighting the richness of Hispanic and Latino culture. The kick-off event, in particular, is anticipated as a powerful beginning to the month, connecting the relevance of Hispanic heritage with the arts.
The university aims to provide individuals outside the Hispanic and Latino American community with a glimpse into the daily lives of Hispanic and Latino Americans, moving beyond stereotypical narratives. This year's theme, "Together We Shine / Juntos Brillamos," invites you to embark on a journey through time, showcasing the myriad contributions Hispanic and Latino culture has made while celebrating the collective strength and unity of our community.
As Rice University gears up for Hispanic Heritage Month, there is a dedication to creating a meaningful and impactful celebration that not only recognizes the historical significance but also serves as an opportunity for reflection, education and fostering a sense of community among students, staff, faculty and the broader population. The planning committee recruited seven students and nine staff/faculty members to design the monthlong programming, bringing together Owls who identify as Hispanic or Latino/a/x/e, as well as a consortium from different backgrounds, interested in supporting the Hispanic and Latino community.
We'd love for you to join us as we come together as a community to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
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Hispanic Heritage Month 2025 Events
- Recurring Events
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Date Time Event Name & Location Description Event Contact Sept. 15, Sept, 22, Oct. 13 8 p.m. Tango Class and Social (Ley Student Center, Farnsworth Pavilion) Argentine tango classes for improving dance skills, balance, connection, centering, community and friendships building around the dance. (Sign up here)
(Hosted by Tango Buhos)
Indre Rapalaviciute (id5@rice.edu) Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 8., Oct. 15 (Wednesdays) 6:30 p.m. to 7:25 p.m. Group Ex: Tango (Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center) Tango is a group exercise class that emphasizes core strength, precise movements, balance, and posture. It focuses on stability and body control, contributing to endurance and overall wellness. Tango class is designed to enhance locomotor system awareness and is based on deep listening, communication, lead, and follow skills. The class consists of solo tango technique, plus vocabulary, and is driven by the variety of tango music genres. (Sign up here)
(Hosted by Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center)
Indre Rapalaviciute (id5@rice.edu) Thursdays (beginning Sept. 18) 3:30 p.m. Thursday Hangouts (Multicultural Center) Come to the MCC every Thursday during Hispanic Heritage Month to enjoy food and fellowship, as well as meet other students, faculty, and staff
(Hosted by the Office of Access and Institutional Excellence).
Avery Hartwell (ah150@rice.edu)
- September 8-14, 2025
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Date Time Event & Location Description Event Contact Sept. 9 4 p.m. New Directions in Latin American and Latinx Studies Lectures Series “Spanish Speakers as Racialized Social Types: Hearing for Deficiency and Deception” (Herring Hall 225, English Faculty Lounge) This is a lecture by Jessica Lopez-Espino examining the use of the term 'Spanish speakers' in a California dependency court serving predominantly Mexican and Central American communities. Drawing on statements by judges, lawyers, and social workers, the talk reveals how the label perpetuated raciolinguistic ideologies and positioned certain bodies as inherently deficient or deceptive, even without explicit racial language (RSVP here).
(Hosted by the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies)
Fatima Bazan Mota (fb55@rice.edu) - September 15-21, 2025
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Date Time Event & Location Description Event Contact Sept. 15 5:15 p.m. Hispanic Heritage Month Kickoff Event (Grand Hall, Rice Memorial Center) Celebrate with free food, performances, t-shirts, and activity booths as we bring in the start of Hispanic Heritage Month!
(Hosted by the Office of Access and Institutional Excellence)
Andrea Herrera (amh21@rice.edu) Sept. 17 7-9 p.m. Rice Ballroom x HACER: Dance Workshop (Grand Hall, Rice Memorial Center) We will host a Latin dance workshop in celebration of LHM. This event will feature beginner-friendly lessons in a Latin dance, followed by a social dance hour. The goal is to create a welcoming space for students of all backgrounds to experience the rhythm, and cultural significance of Latin dance. Light refreshments will be provided. The event is open to all Rice students, and no prior dance experience is required.
(Hosted by HACER)
Alicia Garza (alg27@rice.edu) and Ibana Delgado (id16@rice.edu) Sept. 19 3-6 p.m. Be the Cure: Celebrating Heritage, Saving Lives (Crownover Courtyard, between Fondren & Brochstein) Join LAMAH and Mariachi Luna Llena for a donor drive to find out if you are a potential match with a blood cancer/disorder patient through a quick cheek swab. Learn how your heritage could be the key to saving a life and join the registry to be someone’s cure. Participation is non-binding.
(Hosted by Rice Chapter of Latin American Medical Association of Houston (LAMAH) and Mariachi Luna Llena)
Karen Cazares (kic2@rice.edu) Sept. 19 6-8 p.m. SHPE x HACER: Carne Asada (Multicultural Center Courtyard) The event will provide grilled meats and side dishes typically served in Latin American culture, along with Hispanic music for attendees to enjoy and dance to. The cookout aims to provide an environment where attendees can eat, socialize, and take a break from their work.
(Hosted by SHPE and HACER)
Ibana Delgado (id16@rice.edu), Alicia Garza (alg27@rice.edu), and Aaron Juarez (aj106@rice.edu) Sept. 19 6:30 p.m. Los Buhos Night At Rice Volleyball (Tudor Fieldhouse) This is a Rice Volleyball match celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. The team will be up against Cornell at home while highlighting the vibrant cultures present on Rice University's Campus and the Houston community (Purchase tickets here).
(Hosted by Rice Athletics Volleyball)
Megan Vila (mv67@rice.edu) Sept. 20 7:00 p.m. Noche Latina (Shell Stadium) We will have a block of 45 tickets at the Dynamo Stadium for their “Noche Latina” game vs. the Portland. The ticket will include a $20 drink & food voucher (E-mail link will be sent out to alumni and students).
(Hosted by Office of Alumni Relations)
Eva Francavilla (ef30@rice.edu) - September 22-28, 2025
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Date Time Event & Location Description Event Contact Sept. 23 4 p.m. The Health of Brown Rice (McMurtry Auditorium in Duncan) Richard Tapia is the first Rice Hispanic professor and has been on the Rice faculty for more than 50 years. In this talk he will critique the 50-year, not well understood, relationship between Rice and Hispanic Rice.
Brown Rice comes in two wonderful, but quite distinctive flavors - the home-grown domestic variety and the imported international variety. Both varieties are of great value; however, the two varieties are quite distinctive in makeup, background and impact. Indeed, the economic and scientific health of the nation depends critically on the domestic Hispanic representation in STEM areas including the professoriate.
This critique will go deeply into Rice’s successes and its failures centering on the issues of role models, admissions and retention. Comparisons between Rice and several sister universities will be made. The speaker will end his talk with several suggestions on how Rice can improve on its past 50 years of dealing with Hispanic Rice.
(Hosted by the Tapia Center)
Linda Torres (neyra@rice.edu) Sept. 23 6-8 p.m. Sabor Latino: A Taste of Latin America (Founder's Court) We will host a cultural food fair celebrating LHM by offering students a variety of small dishes from across Latin America, including savory and sweet items. Tables will be set up in Founder’s Court to showcase each country’s cuisine, along with signage noting the country of origin. The event will feature music speakers, picnic blankets, and activities.
(Hosted by HACER)
Ibana Delgado (id16@rice.edu) and Alicia Garza (alg27@rice.edu) Sept. 25 12-2 p.m. Beyond Los Hedges: Latine Activism in this Current Political Moment (Farnsworth Pavilion) This educational panel will host four Houston area Latine activists who will share with attendees information about their work. In particular, panelists will speak about the way their activism has been impacted by the current political moment our communities are facing. The event will take place in Farnsworth Pavilion and include catering for all.
(Hosted by the Office of Access and Institutional Excellence)
Luziris Pineda Turi (lpturi@rice.edu) Sept. 26 5 p.m. New Directions in Latin American and Latinx Studies Lectures Series “The Tame and the Wild: People and animals after 1492” (HUMA 117) The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals after 1402 is a lecture by Marcy Norton (University of Pennsylvania) examining Indigenous perspectives on human–animal relationships in Amazonia and Mesoamerica. The talk challenges the assumption that livestock husbandry is an inevitable step in human progress, highlighting alternative trajectories shaped by affective and intersubjective connections between humans and other-than-human animals. (RSVP here)
(Hosted by the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies)
Fatima Bazan Mota (fb55@rice.edu) Sept. 27 6 p.m. Dia de la Hispanidad (Miller Outdoor Theatre at Hermann Park) Join fellow Rice students for food, fun, and Latine culture by attending a performance hosted by the Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston at Miller Outdoor Theatre! This event will showcase dances, music, and traditions from all of Latin America! (Interest form)
(Hosted by HACER)
Zach Rubio (zr16@rice.edu) - September 29-October 5, 2025
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Date Time Event & Location Description Event Contact Sept. 30 7-9 p.m. OAD x HACER: Loteria Night (Grand Hall, Rice Memorial Center) We will host the annual LoterĂa Night in celebration of Latin Heritage Month. LoterĂa will be open to all students for an evening of fun, community, and prizes. The event will feature multiple game rounds, music, and culturally inspired food and drinks, with expected attendance of approximately 250 students.
(Hosted by OAD and HACER)
Andrea Herrera (amh21@rice.edu), Ibana Delgado (id16@rice.edu), and Alicia Garza (alg27@rice.edu) Oct. 2 7-8:30 p.m. HACER Dance Workshop (Sid Theatre) HACER’s Cultural Events Committee is hosting our first ever dance workshop to get hype for HHM, and our future events like RITMO and Quince.
(Hosted by HACER's Cultural Events Committee)
Victoria Sauceda (vs53@rice.edu) Oct. 3 6-8 p.m. Moody Project Wall: Guadalupe Hernandez (Moody Center for the Arts) Join artist Guadalupe Hernandez and Rice students to celebrate their collaborative Moody Project Wall installation. Made with a technique called papel picado-- a Mexican folk art involving intricate cuts into tissue paper-- this artwork reflects student designs created under the guidance of the artist (Register here).
(Hosted by Moody Center for the Arts)
Lauren Cross (lauren.cross@rice.edu) Oct. 5 1 p.m. Nuestra Herencia (Grand Hall, Rice Memorial Center) Join us for Nuestra Herencia, a free concert in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with performances by Rice mariachi band, Luna Llena and other Rice student and community performing groups.
(Hosted by Multicultural Community Relations in the Office of Public Affairs)
David Medina (dmedina@rice.edu) - October 9-15, 2025
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Date Time Event Location/Details Oct. 9 4-5 p.m. ¡Viva la Trivia! Celebrating Hispanic & Latino Heritage (Sewell 309) Join OISS for ¡Viva la Trivia!, a fun and interactive event in celebration of Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month. This trivia game night is your chance to explore the diverse histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities in the U.S.—through categories like music, art, sports, history, and pop culture.
Gather your friends, form a team, and come ready to test your knowledge, win prizes, and celebrate the richness of Hispanic and Latino heritage in an inclusive and welcoming space. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided!
All students, staff, and faculty are welcome—no prior trivia experience needed!
(Hosted by Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS))
Porshe Chiles (pc78@rice.edu) Oct. 9 6 p.m. Protest Art Workshop with MĂłnica Villareal (Rayzor 123) As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, CELAS will host local artist MĂłnica Villarreal for a talk followed by a protest art workshop. All necessary materials will be provided by CELAS (RSVP here)
(Hosted by the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies)
Fatima Bazan Mota (fb55@rice.edu) Oct. 15 5-7 p.m. Closing Event (R Room, near Rice Stadium and West Lot 4) Come celebrate the end of Hispanic Heritage Month in style! We’ll have great street tacos and more, dancing, and community! Join us in closing out the month with a bang!
(Hosted by the Office of Access and Institutional Excellence)
Grant Stephens (gs78@rice.edu)
While we have you here, could you let us know if you would like to join a listserv for staff, faculty, and students interested in Latine life and community at Rice? If so , please add your details on this Google Form. To add the AIE calendar to your Google calendar, please click here.
Special thanks to our Hispanic History Month committee members: Avery Hartwell, Grant Stephens, Angie Arranz, Deverly Perez, Indre Rapalaviciute, Karen Salinas, Melissa Sibley, Alyssa Montelongo, Kary Castillo, Mindy Aguilar, Marina Chavez, Pablo Hernandez, Natalie De La Garza, Andrea Herrera, Andres Puente, Eva Francavilla, Jorge Pineda, Kevin Li Yung Hing, and Alexis Meléndez
