There’s a Mexican restaurant in nearly every US county

“Mexican food exists exactly where you would expect it to, but also pretty much anywhere else you might care to look in the United States that has any significant number of people in it,” says Aaron Smith, Pew’s director of data labs research. “In the middle of Oregon somewhere, out between the Pacific Ocean and the Rockies, there’s this little moderately sized community where over a third of the restaurants are serving Mexican food, which is kind of fascinating.”

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The 2nd Annual Holiday Pitch-In for refugees and volunteers

Once again it is time to gather as a welcoming community and celebrate all of our Monroe County refugee residents and all of the volunteers that work with them.

When: Saturday Dec. 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: The First United Church, Fellowship Hall, at 2420 E 3rd St., Bloomington, IN 47401 (Behind the IU Credit Union)

What: A Holiday Pitch-In. If you are able please bring a special food to share that you enjoy this time of year.

This is a great time to greet old friends as well as to meet new ones. There will be activities for children, music and delicious food. We hope to see you there!

Puerto Rican Bomba in Bloomington Indiana

Thursday, September 21, 2023

4:00 PM – 8:00 PMUniversity Collections at McCalla

4:00 PM at McCalla Collections
Screening and Talkback of Resistimos (2021), a film by Diana Quiñones Rivera. This documentary is about the current socio-economic and political issues in Puerto Rico, as seen through the lives of people practicing Bomba music. Bomba is an Afro Puerto Rican music and dance tradition that was born out of the struggle and survival of enslaved people all over the island. Resistimos documents the resurgence of this music as a tool to fight corruption, gender inequality and the austerity measures imposed in Puerto Rico by the US Fiscal Control Board in 2016.

6:00 PM at McCalla Collections

Bomba performance by Ivelisse Díaz and dance troup, Bomberxas De’Cora.

2023 La Fiesta del Otoño Celebrates Literature and Culture

Join neighbors and friends in celebrating the City of Bloomington Fiesta del Otoño at the Switchyard Park Pavilion on Saturday, September 16 from noon to 4 p.m. This event commemorates National Hispanic Heritage month, which is recognized each year from September 15 through October 15, and is a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community.

Ven y únete para celebrar la Fiesta del Otoño de la Ciudad de Bloomington en el Pavilion de Switchyard Park el sábado 16 de septiembre a partir del mediodía y hasta las 4 p.m. Este evento conmemora el Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana, que se reconoce cada año del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre, y es un momento para celebrar la diversidad de culturas latinas, sus historias y  contribuciones en Estados Unidos. 

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How diverse is IU’s freshman class in 2023?

Indiana University Bloomington welcomed 9,550 students this August as a part of its incoming undergraduates. But how diverse is IU Bloomington’s most recent freshman class? 

Of the 9,550 undergraduates welcomed onto campus this year, 918 students are first-generation undergraduate students and 1,873 are members of historically marginalized populations, a record for the Bloomington campus, according to an IU press release

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City of Bloomington and U.S. Department of Justice Host United Against Hate Forum

On Thursday, September 7th, from 6-9 p.m., the U.S. Department of Justice and City of Bloomington will host the United Against Hate Forum in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street.

The goal of the forum is to address hate crime legislation, how hate crimes are prosecuted, and to provide resources for campus and community members. Since 1990, the Bloomington Human Rights Commission (now the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission) has been collecting data and tracking hate incidents in our community. In 2022, the Human Rights Commission documented five hate incidents. Hate Incident Reports for the last ten years can be found on the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission webpage: bloomington.in.gov/boards/human-rights. Please note that the annual reports contain descriptions of verbal harassment, threats of physical harm, actual physical harm and vandalism. The reports also address the apparent motivations behind each incident.  The Commission alerts prospective readers that the language contained in the reports has been preserved for accuracy, and is as such often offensive by definition.

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Habitat for Humanity 

Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful program that has helped many of our lower income families achieve their own home. 

There is a process for this.   The first step is to attend one of the annual Homeowner information meetings are August 24 or August 26, 2023.

Even if you feel you are not completely ready to take this step, I would encourage you to attend one of these meetings, so you will understand the process for this.  

See attached documents