Portland State’s Cultural Resource Centers are as much a place of refuge as they are a place of community-building. Whether you’re hanging out during a break between classes, chatting with friends, working on homework or attending one of their many events, the spaces empower you to bring your full self and embrace your history, culture and identity — and experience the same from your peers.
In this blog series, we’re giving you a peek into each of our vibrant, culturally affirming centers on campus — but we hope you’ll check them out for yourself!
La Casa Latina, located in Room 228 of Smith Memorial Student Union, is a space where Latinx/é students and allies can build and connect with community, develop leadership skills and empower their individual and collective identities. La Casa was originally located next door but an ever-growing Latiné student population — now the largest minority group on campus — necessitated a move to a larger space in 2022.
The space
Latin music is always playing, be it reggatón, merengue, cumbia or Selena. Brightly painted murals designed by students pay homage to cultural roots. Flags representing every Spanish-speaking country hang from the walls. And atop the microwave, Valentina and Tapatio hot sauces are, of course, readily available.
Students helped to organize the new space to feel like, well, a house with different “rooms.” There’s couches for lounging, tables for studying, a computer lab and a microwave and kettle to warm up food or make a cup of tea.
Program coordinator Carrie Vasquez says they set out to create a space that would feel like “home away from home.”
“When I was a student, I always wanted to find spaces where I felt like I could find my community, I could be represented and feel heard and have shared experiences with people that look like me — and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do with La Casa,” they said. “I’m trying to create a safe space for all Latinx students — and that includes queer and trans Latinx students, Afro-Latinos, anyone who falls within the Latiné diaspora — I want them to feel comfortable enough to come into La Casa and know and acknowledge that this is a safe space for them.”
MAKE SOME NOISE
As is true of all the cultural resource centers, La Casa Latina is not a noise-controlled space.
“We’re loud and we’re proud of who we are,” Vasquez says. “When you come in here, there’s music blasting, there’s people talking. If you want to come in and start singing or dancing, you can do that. We want our students to be able to come into our spaces and know that they can 100% be authentically who they are.”
WHAT KEEPS STUDENTS COMING BACK
Raul Rodriguez Luna, now a grad student, started coming to La Casa when it was in the other space but prefers the bigger space. Some days, you’ll find him eating lunch or working on homework. Other days, he’ll be in meetings or planning events with MEChA or other Latino student groups that use the space as a meeting hub.
“Every time I come in here, they have music playing — jams that you won’t hear anywhere else on campus,” he says. “A lot of people here are studying, talking or eating. It’s an atmosphere where you feel good and you can be you.”
Sophomore Evelyn Rosas-Atrian is part of the student programming team at La Casa but says she still frequents the space even when she’s not working. She knew about La Casa even before she started at PSU, having heard from her older sister how much she loved going as a student to do homework or hang out.
“It’s just the energy that people bring in that puts everything together,” she says.
Senior Jenny Sacayon Rojas jokes that she practically lives at La Casa.
“Being able to walk into a space and knowing that you’re always welcomed is the most important,” she says.
SIGNATURE EVENTS
Fall: Día de los Muertos
Winter: Jotería Lotería (coming up Feb. 14!)
Spring: Sí Se Puede Week
La Casa is open Mondays-Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Follow La Casa on Instagram @psu_lacasa.
All photos by Jeremy Chun Sajqui