April 22, 2010

Spanish Language Day planned at SIUC

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Spanish Language Day debuts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Friday, April 23.

The inaugural event features an open microphone session and a Spanish-language screening of “Don Quixote,” a big screen version of the Miguel de Cervantes’ classic early novel.

Event organizers say knowledge of Spanish is not a requirement but a love of the language -- or at least a willingness to love it -- is.

The “Don Quixote” event begins at 2:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium, in the Parkinson Building. The movie is in Spanish but is subtitled in English. After the film presentation, Lourdes Aluixech, associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the Spanish language graduate adviser, will guide a discussion of the film. Contests and prizes add to the fun. The event should end at approximately 5 p.m.

The open microphone event is 6-8 p.m., also in Brown Auditorium. The event focuses on authors from Spanish-speaking countries. Participants could read a poem or speech or other dramatic reading or act out a role in a play, perform a song, or even discuss an element of Spanish language, perhaps an unusual word or usage encountered. Presentations should be five minutes or less. Longer presentations require pre-approval.

Pre-register by emailing Nyddia Lugo-Spahr at luroji33@hotmail.com.

Student groups including the Hispanic Council, Hispanic Law Student Association, Latin American Student Association and Spanish Club sponsor this event.