Berkeley Lab’s Latin American and Native American employee resource group kicks off Latin American Heritage Month today with a banner-raising ceremony at 10:15 a.m. in front of Building 65. A slew of activities are planned including talks with bilingual science communicator Mónica I. Feliú-Mójer, neuroscientist David Ricardo Quiroga Martínez, and Jorge Zamanillo, the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino.

LANA’s Latin American Heritage Month page has the full list of events, including hybrid cafecito chats in September and October. The entire Lab community is invited. Check the page often for updates.

Heritage month begins on the 15th because it coincides with the national independence celebrations of several nations, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico celebrates its independence on Sept. 16. All were former colonies of Spain.