Chadron State College is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month tonight with a dinner concert highlighting the culture of Honduras.at the Student Center.
Honduran musician Gustavo Moradel will perform in the Ballroom at 6:30, but the audience is encouraged to come starting at 6:00 for a specially-prepared meal featuring Honduran favorites.
They’ll go through the normal serving line in the Dining Hall, then take their food across the hall to the Ballroom. The meal is free for all CSC students, while non-students will pay the normal Dining Hall meal rates.
The menu will likely include Baleadas Hondureñas, bean soup, Pollo con Tajadas, Honduran bean tostadas (catrachas), and Honduran red beans and rice (casamiento), with Honduran Yucca cake for dessert.
CSC Director of Housing and Residence Life Taylor Osmotherly says he’s excited for the evening offering two different takes on the culture of Honduras.
In fact, the idea of the dinner was his and he was thrilled that it was fully embraced by Aladdin Campus Dining, which holds the CSC food service contract.
Aladdin campus director Karl Kigert says Lydia Gardia, a Honduran student on his staff, developed the menu along with executive chef Zach Hartley and lead cook Andrew Sanchez. Kigert says his entire staff is excited for the opportunity.
As for the concert, Moradel is a bilingual singer-songwriter-producer who was born in Honduras and moved to the U-S when he was 12. He’s also a speaker and caseworker based in Nashville.
Moradel says his songs are a collection of his own experiences as an immigrant, seeker, and artist – and that he’s proud of the way people react to his storytelling.
He adds that they “speak of the human experience from the perspective of someone who is always questioning everything, feels deeply, and cares not only for people but also our planet.”
The evening is being presented by the CSC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in collaboration with the International Club and Familia.
Familia is one of the newest campus clubs, having formed last fall to welcome native Spanish speakers as well as those at all levels of learning the language.