History of Casa - Casa - Western Illinois University

Casa

History of the Casa Latina Cultural Center

a college of photos. 1 students in front of the old casa building, observing the mural. 2 the cover of the old student magazine la voz 3 calendar of events from la voz 4 the first casa house 5 newspaper image of the fire damage on the old casa house 6 the front of the multicultural center

In 1972, Raul Rodolfo Salazar, an assistant professor of Foreign Languages, used his residence to serve as a meeting place for Latino students on campus. This group of students organized to become the Latin American Organization (LAO) which later evolved into the Latin American Student Organization (LASO). It was through the efforts of the LAO students that Casa Latina found its first home at 501 West Pierce in 1973. A fire in the winter of 1975 destroyed part of Casa Latina. Casa Latina was then moved to the Auxiliary Enterprises Building until April 2008. When the building was to be demolished, Casa Latina Cultural Center was temporally relocated to the fourth floor of Olson so that the land could be cleared for the construction of the present Multicultural Center. In June of 2009, the new Multicultural Center was completed and Casa Latina Cultural Center moved into the new building along with the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and the Women's Center.