From Sept. 15  to Oct. 15, the Madison Public Library is hosting a series of events to honor Hispanic Heritage Month. According to the Public Library’s website, these events are intended to highlight the achievements of Hispanic and Latino Americans and celebrate their culture. The events include a Portrait Exhibition by local artist Sirena Flores, a Saturday Music Series, films shown every Friday, Spanish conversation groups, and multiple online activities.

The Badger Herald spoke to Madison Public Library Marketing Specialist Liz Boyd, who is heavily involved in the library’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and its potential impacts. 

Liz Boyd said the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration occurs annually and hopes to facilitate events and highlight resources available to Spanish speakers and Madison’s Hispanic community. Movie nights and bilingual story times are often featured in the Public Library’s celebration, according to Boyd. 

In addition to these more regular events, Boyd said events for Hispanic Heritage Month can include ‘takeover events’ where citizens can apply to host events at the Madison Public Library. This year’s event occurred on Sept. 14 and revolved around violence targeted toward women in the Latino community, according to Boyd.

“Program[s] like the library takeover… [give] people voice, space and time to share their own experiences and reflect that back out to the community,” Boyd said. 

Boyd said by hosting the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, the Madison Public Library is able to both share their experiences while giving citizens the chance to voice themselves and their community.

The Badger Herald also spoke to Rissel Sanderson, an educator affiliated with the Play and Learn program in the Madison School District. She is currently leading the Madison Public Library’s bilingual storytelling program for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Sanderson, who was born in Bolivia and moved to Madison 36 years ago, has conducted bilingual story times for two years. She said the story times are often short, interactive, and involve the use of English or Spanish for the entire story. 

“For the kids… understanding a language, it’s so important to have them enjoy them in [those ways],” Sanderson said. 

The Madison Children’s Museum will also be celebrating Hispanic Heritage month in October, Sanderson said. According to Sanderson, the event will include activities and food from nations such as Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. 

When asked about the importance of the cultural impacts of events such as the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration to the city of Madison, Boyd said Spanish speakers are an essential part of Madison’s community who do many things to support the city. The Madison Public Library endorses events allowing beginners to learn the Spanish language or for more experienced speakers to have more time to use it.

“It’s a good opportunity to practice that language and keep that heritage alive,” Boyd said. 

The Badger Herald also asked Rissel Sanderson about the impacts of cultural heritage events on the greater Madison area. Sanderson said Madison is a melting pot of a city, and 24 different languages are spoken in the Play and Learn program alone. 

Sanderson said that more events celebrating Hispanic heritage would be greatly helpful in helping people feel proud of their heritage. Representing countries in specific is also appreciated among the greater community, according to Sanderson.

“Recently, we [had] a parade of flags of nations… and you could see people’s faces light up when they saw the [different] flags,” Sanderson said. 

Liz Boyd said that through these language lessons and the other events hosted during the next month, the general population of Madison can understand the experiences of the Hispanic community and learn from them. According to Boyd, the widespread accessibility of events celebrating diverse cultures makes them more impactful. 

The Badger Herald also spoke to Boyd and Sanderson about University of Wisconsin student involvement with the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration and the Public Library’s future events. Through the aforementioned library takeover program, students have the opportunity to bring their own event ideas to the library, Boyd said.

“We’d be interested in and encourage having more students in our spaces and bringing their ideas here,” Boyd said. 

Sanderson said students can volunteer at events like the Madison Public Library and the Madison Children’s Museum’s celebrations of Hispanic heritage. Volunteering includes encouraging children to engage with the various activities on display in each.

In regards to students hosting takeover events, Boyd said the library has free meeting spaces in-person and online to discuss ideas for the library and its future.

“[Volunteering] gives you experience and helps a lot in the community,” Sanderson said. 

Hispanic Heritage Month events at Madison Public Library are free and open to the public.