THIS THURSDAY, April 17: Our programs begin this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in Black Hall, Room 152 with the artist Daniel DeSiga, one of the Northwest's most accomplished Chicano artists and nationally recognized for his murals, posters, and paintings of migrant farm workers. His most recent work has taken an unexpected turn away from Chicano subjects and towards spontaneously executed abstract paintings. His talk this Thursday, entitled "Crossing Over," will focus on the personal and professional significance of his shift to new subject matter and means of expression. Please note that the exhibition "Daniel DeSiga and Friends" remains on display in Spurgeon Gallery, located in Randall Hall Room 141, until April 27 (Admission is free. Gallery hours are weekdays 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., and weekends 1:00-4:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Heather Horn Johnson, Gallery Manager, at heatherh@cwu.edu, 509.963.2665, or visit www.cwu.edu/~art/gallery.html)

• Who: Daniel DeSiga
• What: "Crossing Over," Artist Lecture
• When: Thursday, April 17, 7pm
• Where: Black Hall, Room 152

NEXT THURSDAY, April 24: The second program, scheduled for Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Black Hall Room 152, will see Maria Ruth Sanabria, an activist from one of Colombia's most war-torn regions, discuss the efforts of community women to "wage peace" in response to the everyday violence surrounding them. Sponsored also by the Montana Human Rights Network, the event marks the fifth annual celebration at CWU of Colombian civil society's efforts to carve out dignified lives caught between government, para-military, and guerrilla forces who have been engaged in nearly a half century of warfare.

• Who: Maria Ruth Sanabria
• What: "Women Waging Peace in Colombia," Community Speaker
• When: Thursday, April 24, 7:00 p.m.
• Where: Black Hall, Room 152

CINCO DE MAYO: The programming culminates with a grand celebration in the Music Building Concert Hall on May 5th with the acclaimed Mexican band, Bola Suriana, treating us to a two-hour performance of some of the richest, most talked-about music from Morelia, Michoacán. Bola Suriana has been together for over seventeen years, during which time they have developed an original style, taking as a foundation Mexican and Latin American folk music, and emphasizing the distinct styles of traditional music in their home state of Michoacán. Their music has taken them on a journey of cultural forums through much of Mexico and internationally, representing Mexico on twenty tours in a variety of festivals and concerts in Europe, the United States, South America, and the Caribbean. The Bola has recorded sixteen albums to date, testimony to their continuing work to share the rich musical heritage of their people. The name of the group is taken from the army of General Emiliano Zapata, who, in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, rose up in arms against the dictator Porfirio Díaz. Zapata hoped to eradicate the precarious conditions under which farmers lived and to create a more just Mexico. For more information, please visit the band's website at www.bolasuriana.com. Sponsored in part by the Yakima-Morelia Sister Cities Organization, the event highlights our region's cultural links to a region of origin for many central Washington Latino/as.

• Who: Bola Suriana, Mexican Music
• What: Free Concert
• When: Monday, May 5, 7:00 p.m.
• Where: CWU Music Building Concert Hall