The 15th annual Hispanic Heritage celebration on Sept. 25-29 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will host the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Pedro “Ronnie” Rodriguez as the guest speaker and highlight amongst additional events open to ABAC students and the public.

The Hispanic Heritage Day event seeks to increase cultural awareness and appreciation for the contributions of the Hispanic community locally and across the United States.

The week’s events include Loteria (Bingo) Night at 6 p.m. in Town Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 25, An Examination of American Immigration History lecture by ABAC professor Dr. Jess Usher at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium on Wednesday, Sept. 26. Students’ favorite Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration in the Meadows is on Thursday, Sept. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., serving up traditional and authentic Hispanic food, a variety of student performances, and guest speaker Ronnie Rodriguez. La Fiesta del Pueblo is on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Tifton’s Fulwood Park.

Pedro “Ronnie” Rodriguez, associate director for Engineering at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will be the guest speaker for Hispanic Heritage at 10 a.m. in Nursing 108 and again at 1 p.m. in The Meadows on Sept. 27. Born in Camaguey, Cuba, Rodriguez earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida and master’s degree in space systems from Florida Institute of Technology.

Hispanic Heritage Month began on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico declared independence on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18. The national celebration ends on Oct. 12 with the observation of the date that Christopher Columbus discovered America.