Regis celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

The Student Center patio was filled with the moody rhythms of Bachata music one day during Hispanic Heritage Month as students and staff joined Regis’ favorite fox, Regi, joined associate faculty member Delia Greth in a midday lesson in Bachata dance. In the Student Center, students joined Professor Tony Ortega to paint a mural capturing life at Regis.

Regis is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with events taking place on campus that seek to bring staff, students and community members to celebrate together in enriching Hispanic culture on campus.

Staff around campus have become involved in celebrating and sharing Hispanic heritage through art, dance and performance. Academic Success Coach Delia Greth takes part in a committee formed this year that seeks to amplify the new and returning events showcasing Hispanic heritage on campus.

Greth said that there have always been these events on campus, but this year the committee was formed with the effort of highlighting the people and culture of Regis that have been unacknowledged.

Staying true to this mission, Greth shares her own celebrations of Hispanic heritage through dance. She is a professionally trained dancer, who has danced with a Mexican baile folklorico group for 10 years before going abroad. Greth practices a variety of other Latin dances including Bachata, which originates from the Dominican Republic.

While Greth has practiced Latin dancing professionally for over a decade, she finds her dancing also takes place outside of a professional dance environment, such as her kitchen while cooking, or at Latin dance nights throughout Denver. Greth hoped that bringing Latin dance to Regis through her event will inspire students to try something new.

“I want to try to get the students to dance, but students are embarrassed to try things! When people are unsure, they are often embarrassed to try something new. Especially if it’s unfamiliar. I want students to come and not just watch, but to participate,” Greth said.

As the Regis community comes together to celebrate Hispanic heritage through dance, the celebration of art continues throughout campus. Tony Ortega, professor of Fine and Performing Arts, brought some of his latest artwork, his four-panel mural depicting the student life at Regis, to campus during Hispanic Heritage Month. Throughout the month, he invited Regis community to participate in painting the foundation of the mural.

Ortega’s work seeks to address Chicano and Latino culture and history. His current mural works as a culmination of the variety of culture and experience that the Regis student body brings to campus, in a creation of a living, multicultural “place.”

“Murals are places. They are buildings, activities and people. When people paint together, they become part of the community of the place,” Ortega said.

Though the end of Hispanic Heritage Month draws near, the celebration of Hispanic culture will continue. Learn more about the events of Hispanic Heritage Month at Regis.