Hispanic Heritage Month Virtual Activities Announced

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, and launch the fall 2020 calendar of virtual activities to promote health and wellness in the Spanish-speaking community, the Spanish and Portuguese program at UMass has organized a series of virtual events, "Salud y Bienestar en Pioneer Valley," which will be moderated by internationally recognized Latino/a artists, UMass professors, alumni, students and local members of the Spanish-speaking community.

Thursday, Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m.

Yomaira López Cruz, psychotherapist: Hablando de la autocompasión
Yomaira López Cruz, a psychotherapist, originally from Puerto Rico, who moved to Springfield in 2017 after hurricane María, will continue her series on mental health with an informative session on self-compassion.

Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m.

Octavio Solís, playwright: Una visita con Pablo
Octavio Solís is a Latino playwright from the U.S. with over 25 works presented and awarded nationally and internationally. He will guide a discussion and reflection of the poems of Pablo Neruda.

Friday, Sept. 25, 5 p.m.

Márgara Russotto, poet, Leer y meditar juntos
Márgara Russotto, a UMass Amherst professor and Venezuelan poet/translator, with published volumes of poetry in Spanish, English and Italian, continues her popular series on reading and meditating as a community.

Sunday, Sept. 27, 3 p.m.

Tobias Anderson, pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church

Esperanza con Tobias Tobias will guide a spiritual celebration to inspire and help with overall wellness.

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Elaine del Valle, Latina screenwriter/novelist/director: Lecture and Workshops
Elaine del Valle is a Latina screenwriter, novelist and director from New York with award-winning films presented at international film festivals.

For more information, please contact Maria Guarino at mguarino@umass.edu or Danielle Thomas at daniellethom@umass.edu