Aug. 27, 2002--Edward James Olmos, noted actor, community activist and producer/director, will give the keynote address to open Hispanic Heritage Month at the University of Delaware. His talk will begin at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 17, in the Multipurpose Room of the Trabant University Center, Main Street and South College Avenue, Newark. The talk is free and open to the public.

Known as “the Olivier of the Latino world,” Olmos has starred in many television programs and films such as “Selena,” “Blade Runner,” and “My Family/Mi Familia.” He received an Oscar nomination for “Stand and Deliver,” which he also produced. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the musical “Zoot Suit” and won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Lt. Castillo on the popular television series “Miami Vice.”

An advocate for the Hispanic community, in 1999 Olmos launched a nationwide multimedia project called “Americanos: Latino Life in the United States,” a celebration of Latino culture though photography, film, music and the printed word. Currently, he serves as executive director of the Lives in Hazard Educational Project, a national gang prevention program.

Other events scheduled at UD for Hispanic Heritage Month, which is built around the theme of “The Latino Experience: Art, Activism and Education,” include a special welcome for new students, sponsored by The Hispanic Student Association (HOLA) and the Office of Hispanic and Latin American Concerns during New Student Orientation on Thursday, Sept. 12.

“Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives and the Politics of Naming,” will be the subject of a panel discussion moderated by Alvina Quintana, UD professor of English, scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 24, in 100 Kirkbride Hall, West Delaware Avenue, Newark.

The Lourdes Portillo Film Festival, a lecture/film series, scheduled on three nights, will feature the work of the Mexican-born independent filmmaker whose work focuses on the search for Latino identity. Portillo has received recognition and awards at more than 10 international film festivals for her television documentaries, short films and a video-film collage. Each of the three screenings will begin at 7 p.m. in the Trabant University Center Theatre:

• On Thursday, Sept. 26, “Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo,” a 1985 collaboration with filmmaker Susana Munoz, will be shown. This film documents the activist movement of mothers in Argentina who demanded to know the fate of 30,000 sons and daughters who disappeared during the ‘70s and early 1980s.

• On Monday, Sept. 30, “La Ofrenda; The Days of the Dead,” a 1988 film about the Mexican and Chicano holiday, the “days of the dead,” will be shown.

• On Tuesday, Oct. 1, a discussion with filmmaker Portillo will be held after the screening of “Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena,” a film documenting the fans of the Tejana singer Selena, who was killed in 1995.

For more information on Hispanic Heritage Month, call (302) 831-2991 or (302) 831-0229. To request disability accommodations call at least 10 business days in advance of the program or event.