Reviviendo Nuestras Tradiciones – Latino Heritage Month

Dr. Carlos Galvan Alemán, associate professor of Communication Studies at James Madison University, reflects on contemporary communication of Latino identities, and what it might mean to re-live the traditions of our families and cultures. Senior Alicia Ygarza opens chapel with a vocal solo and poet Marjorie Agosin reads from her work.

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Dr. Carlos Galvan Alemán is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at James Madison University. He also serves as a JMU Professor in Residence at Thomas Harrison Middle School, where he develops activities and initiatives that empower minority and underserved students. He is most proud of collaborative work with partners in the community, notably EMU, toward developing the Shenandoah Valley Scholars’ Latino initiative (SLI) for high school Latinos.

Carlos grew up in the small, migrant farming town of Selma, CA, the seventh of nine children. The pursuit of a doctorate at the University of Iowa took him a long way from his Mexican-American home, but brought him closer to embracing the diversity of Latino cultures. He teaches subjects of interpersonal and cultural communication, theory and advocacy, discourse and identity, and cultural diversity. He enjoys writing with his partner, Dr. Melissa Alemán. Their auto-ethnographic work reflects on communication ritual and identity in multicultural and Latino families.

With the theme “Diversas Naciones, Mismas Tierras”, launch this year’s Latino Heritage Month. Pastor Byron Pellecer from is our guest speaker. He talks about the different cultures represented within those who speak Spanish in Latin America and addresses the need for unity within our community.