‘We brought this culture to share’: At Rock Valley, students lead effort to spotlight Hispanic Heritage

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rock Valley College is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of events aimed at promoting understanding and appreciation of Hispanic culture.

The college’s Association of Latin American Students (ALAS), led by President Natalie Melendez, is at the forefront of these celebrations, welcoming members from all backgrounds to learn about Hispanic culture.

“If we’re all gonna be in this world together, it’s important to learn about each other,” said Melendez.

George Hernandez, a professor of psychology, emphasized the importance of these events, stating, “The Hispanic community in Rockford is large and so we’re hoping that people will come to these events learn a little bit about other people in the community and just have a little bit more understanding.”

Hispanic culture is known for its vibrant music, traditional food, and strong family values, elements that are central to the events being held at Rock Valley.

Melendez highlighted the significance of sharing Hispanic culture, noting, “We plan events that bring the Latin community together, but we accept everyone to the club. Just making everyone aware of the culture. What we bring to the table.”

Hernandez shared his personal experiences with Hispanic culture, recalling, “Getting together to eat meals. Getting together to celebrate birthday parties. For me, some of my favorite memories in childhood was families sitting together and just sharing.”

Melendez also reflected on the immigrant experience, saying, “Knowing what it takes to come here. I know a lot of my family came from a different country. And I know it’s like that for a lot of Latin families and Hispanic families. And I just think it’s important to know that we are people too. We brought this culture here to share with everyone and I think it’s really special that we can share cultures.”

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.