BGSU to host 29th annual Latino/a/x Issues Conference, celebrating cultural visibility

The free public event will feature award-winning author and editor Dr. Frederick Luis Aldama as the keynote speaker

Bowling Green State University will host its 29th annual Latino/a/x Issues Conference on Wednesday, March 26, a multilingual event founded to increase cultural visibility, promote student research and honor the accomplishments of the Latino/a/x communities.

The free public event will feature keynote speaker Dr. Frederick Luis Aldama, an award-winning author and editor known as Professor Latinx.

BGSU faculty, alumni and undergraduate and graduate students will present during panel discussions and roundtables on colonialism and its legacies in North America, cultural expression, influence and activism and more. The event will be held in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union.

“The Latino/a/x Issues Conference provides a platform for students, faculty, staff and community members to engage in discussions about important issues affecting the Latino/a/x community in northwest Ohio and across the nation,” said Dr. Luis Moreno, a teaching professor in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies and co-chair of the event’s organizing committee.

From modest beginnings in 1995 to now a full-day event featuring more than 20 presenters, the Latino/a/x Issues Conference has evolved into a premier annual event honoring the cultural journeys and experiences of the Latino/a/x communities.

Fostering inclusivity and celebrating differing perspectives has remained a constant theme of the event since its start three decades ago.

Born in Mexico and raised in California, Aldama founded and directs the Latinx Pop Lab at the University of Texas at Austin and the annual BIPOC PoP: Comics, Gaming, Animation & Multimedia Arts Symposium. He also serves as editor-in-chief of Latinx Pop Magazine and the Texas-based publisher FlowerSong Press.

Aldama has published over 50 books, including the Eisner Award-winning “Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics.”  

Aldama produces and co-creates documentaries and animated shorts, including Carlitos Chupacabra, which was showcased at the 2023 Cannes Animation Festival. A member of the National Cartoonists Society, Texas Institute of Letters and The Ohio State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion Hall of Fame, Aldama also serves on boards such as the Academy of American Poets.

On-site registration is required for the keynote luncheon. BGSU students can attend for free, but general admission is $25.

For more information, visit BGSU.edu/Latino/a/xIssuesConference