‘Celebrating Hispanic Heritage’ at MSU on exhibit through mid-October

Contact: Landon Gibson

Books, part of MSU’s “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage” exhibit
MSU’s “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage” exhibit located on the second floor of Mitchell Memorial Library features literary works and other Spanish translations. (Photo submitted/courtesy of Melissa Grimes)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month with two campus exhibits featuring over a century of Latinx history that can be viewed through Oct. 15.

Free to all, a history showcase on the second floor of Mitchell Memorial Library features several literary works, including work by former MSU professor Carlos Espinosa Dominguez. An “Art and Architecture in the Americas” exhibit in the Union Art Gallery displays artwork produced by Latinx students from MSU and celebrates Latin American built environments.

“This exhibit was created to highlight items from MSU Library collections—rare books, political papers, sheet music and photographs—either created by or about Latinx people,” said MSU Libraries Archivist Jessica Perkins Smith. “It is our hope that students and the MSU community will learn from and enjoy this exhibit.”

The library display includes literature such as Spanish translations of works from Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams and MSU alumnus John Grisham, among others. Materials documenting political efforts of the Latinx community in the 20th century from the collections of former members of Congress Mike Espy and David Bowen, as well as the Delta Ministry Papers, also are featured.

The Union Art Gallery exhibit includes images of Latin American cities and modern architecture from the 20th and 21st centuries spanning a broad range of public buildings, social housing projects and private residences. Showcased are creators Silvinia Lopez Barrera, an MSU School of Architecture assistant professor and licensed architect in Uruguay who holds a Master of Architecture degree from Iowa State University; as well as junior architecture major Elisa Castañeda of Madison, Alabama; and junior art major Ana Sofia Licona of Starkville.

MSU’s Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and Latino Student Association also are collaborating with other campus organizations to host additional events including a virtual poetry performance and the university’s inaugural iBaile virtual Latin dance competition.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.