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Gonzaga Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Gonzaga hosted several events this week, including a special guest speaker and visit to the Library of Congress, to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.
On Thursday, the Honorable Dr. Claudia Escobar came to Gonzaga as a special guest speaker. Judge Escobar is the former magistrate of the Court of Appeals of Guatemala and the mother of Juan Fernandez '19. She was the lead whistleblower in a case of grand corruption that revealed illegal interference in Guatemala's judiciary by high-ranking political officials, including the country's vice-president and the former president of congress. Following a series of death threats that she received for speaking out against corruption in Guatemala's judiciary, Judge Escobar left with her family for the United States in 2015 to continue her legal work and advocacy for judicial independence. She is currently a fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, where she is examining the impact of international institutions on the fight against corruption in Guatemala.
During her talk to the students, she spoke about her experiences as a whistleblower and emigrant. "It's not every day that our students get the chance to hear from someone like Judge Escobar," says Devon Leary, Gonzaga’s Associate Dean of Diversity and Student Life. “She has dedicated her life to working for the respect of the law and the promotion of justice. The students were completely captivated by her talk, which brought to life many topics, including emigration, that they read about in books, see on television, or discuss in class.”
In addition to this special guest speaker, students from Mr. Laguilles´ Spanish IV class and members of the Latin American Student Association attended a presentation hosted by The Hispanic Cultural Society of the Library of Congress. Representative Pete Aguilar from the 31st Congressional District of California spoke at the event, where he discussed issues facing Latinos today and the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Earlier in the week, Gonzaga’s Religion classes had the chance to see a replica of Our Lady of Guadelupe's Tilma, or cloak. The replica belongs to the Archdiocese of Washington, and throughout the day on Tuesday, students walked it from classroom to classroom, so each Religion class could learn about the history of Our Lady of Guadelupe and offer a short prayer. Here’s a short video of the procession:
And here are some photos from the events:
Gonzaga looks forward to continuing to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month for the next few weeks.
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