Events & Opportunities
June 6, 2026
Preservación de nuestra Cultura y Tradiciones
Reflexionemos sobre la Importancia de la identidad cultural latina, el uso de la lengua nativa y la preservación de las tradiciones y costumbres. Esta conversación es para personas que han emigrado de países hispanohablantes, o descendientes de inmigrantes (hasta la 3ra generación) que están interesados en reconectarse con su cultura. Aquí compartiremos historias y vivencias sobre el nivel de conexión que aún tenemos con nuestras raíces, y finalmente reflexionaremos sobre qué podemos hacer para reconectarnos en caso de que exista tal añoranza.
11:00 a.m., Redmond Public Library, Redmond
June 11, 2026
Preservación de nuestra Cultura y Tradiciones
Reflexionemos sobre la Importancia de la identidad cultural latina, el uso de la lengua nativa y la preservación de las tradiciones y costumbres. Esta conversación es para personas que han emigrado de países hispanohablantes, o descendientes de inmigrantes (hasta la 3ra generación) que están interesados en reconectarse con su cultura. Aquí compartiremos historias y vivencias sobre el nivel de conexión que aún tenemos con nuestras raíces, y finalmente reflexionaremos sobre qué podemos hacer para reconectarnos en caso de que exista tal añoranza.
6:00 p.m., Central Library at Stevens Ranch, Bend
June 25, 2026
Tertulias...¡de película! en Español: "Malamadre"
Tertulias… ¡de Película! Es un encuentro trimestral en español donde exploramos cortometrajes, documentales y películas, y conversamos abierta y sinceramente sobre las ideas y emociones que nos despierta el cine. Es un espacio para conectar, aprender y compartir, pensado para personas hispanohablantes que desean vivir historias a través del cine.
5:30 a 7:30 p.m., Redmond Public Library, Redmond
July 29, 2026
To What Do We Pledge?
While the opening of the Declaration of Independence gets the fanfare and the fireworks—“When in the course of human events” and all that—the closing clause contains a quiet promise: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” When we talk about the founding, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclamation of individual rights. And yet, buried in that big individualistic origin story, there is a pledge of support, solidarity, and mutual aid. Today, as we witness political violence, hostility, and polarization, this conversation invites us to explore what it means for us to be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea, any value, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to “mutually pledge” ourselves to one another today? What would it look like? Feel like? Is it even possible?
Facilitator Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland State University. She is also a poet, an essayist, a stitcher, and a self-proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield, but now lives with her family in Portland.
6:00 p.m., Central Library at Stevens Ranch, Bend
September 10, 2026
Migration: Changes and Transformation—What Changes and What Stays
Change is a natural part of life, but changes brought about by migration are particularly deep and complex. People who leave behind their country, their people, and part of their history have their lives radically transformed. This conversation is for immigrants. We want to offer a space where we can share our experiences and reflect together about the changes we have made since we left our native homes, what brought us to the place we live now, and the transformation we went through over this process. We will reflect on what happens to our roots, customs, and culture once we migrate and share our thoughts and needs.
Cristina was born in Barcelona, Spain. Her parents migrated from the south to the northeast of the country. She grew up speaking two languages and learned how to love both cultures. She became an acupuncturist and Shiatsu specialist and taught Shiatsu and Chinese Medicine for ten years. She also joined many musical groups and performed in weddings and bars for twelve years. She met her husband during a sabbatical year in South America and moved to the US soon after. She worked as a Latino Family Liaison for three years, and she and her husband co-founded PIE (Purpose in Expenses), a new way to give back to our global community. Cristina founded BENDitas, a collective that promotes culture in Spanish in her beloved Bend community. She has had to change many things since she moved to the United States in 2011, but her pride in being Spanish has never changed.
5:30 p.m., Latino Community Association Bend Office, Bend