Las Vegas’ vibrant Mexican community gets the spotlight when “Cultures of Las Vegas: Mexico” debuts on Clark County Television (CCTV) Friday, Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and plays throughout the month.
Guest moderated by Fox 5’s Maria Silva, the show features Irma Varela, who has been recognized by the government of Mexico as a “Distinguished Mexican” for her local contributions as the founder of the Life in Death: Day of the Dead Festival and cultural program supervisor of the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center; Nathalie Martinez, UNLV undergraduate research assistant involved with the UNLV Latinx Voices project (www.library.unlv.edu/latinx); author, educator and activist Tom Rodriguez (www.TomRodriguezLV.com); Maria Guadalupe Gil, owner of Casa Don Juan restaurant (www.casadonjuanlv.com), and her daughter, Denisse Gil. Silva’s brothers, Manny and Bobby Silva, also participated.
CCTV is focusing on local Mexican culture this month since Mexico’s Independence Day is Wednesday, Sept. 16.
“It’s truly an honor to be a part of CCTV’s ‘Cultures of Las Vegas: Mexico’,” said Silva. “I’m so proud we get to share our beautiful Mexican culture and traditions with our viewers. ¡Viva Mexico!”
“The contributions of the Mexican people to Las Vegas and Nevada history and culture are significant and I’m glad that Clark County can spotlight them in this show,” said Erik Pappa, the County’s director of Public Communications. “I want to thank Fox 5’s Maria Silva News for moderating this discussion as well as the panelists for their insights.”
Besides appearing on CCTV, the 30-minute show also may be viewed on Clark County’s YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/ClarkCountyNV. A direct link to the show: https://youtu.be/jyl96aqwjUk. The discussion is also available on Clark County’s “Cultures of Las Vegas” podcast available for iPhones and Androids.
Other CCTV air times this week: Saturday, Sept. 5 at 2:30 and 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Previous iterations of the series have focused on the Indians, https://youtu.be/oh2J9AFzQXk; the French, https://youtu.be/l53oPCatW7k; the Irish, https://youtu.be/Fu5OcnTlGy4; the Chinese, https://youtu.be/wSXlaLr20eA; the Poles, https://youtu.be/UOz5qjA6jNA, and the Italians, https://youtu.be/FA-X8QB_c3A. CCTV has also produced similar shows, including, “Celebrating Latino Contributions,” https://youtu.be/6OcrX1ywDHw; “Influences of Asia and the Pacific,” https://youtu.be/8X3EIlvufME; and Black History Month discussions, https://youtu.be/z716l5FQG0s and https://youtu.be/GlU-Tm4rIRo. Staff plan to continue the series, focusing each month on the contributions of a local ethnic group.
CCTV is available in the Las Vegas area on Channel 4/1004 on Cox cable and on CenturyLink on Channels 4 and 1004 as well as in Laughlin on Channel 14 via Suddenlink. Live streaming of CCTV programming is available at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov and www.YouTube.com/ClarkCountyNV. CCTV is also available in Boulder City on Channel 4 and in Moapa Valley on Digital Channel 50.3.