In Oct. of 2023, IU Latino Cultural Center, more familiarly known as La Casa, will celebrate its 50-year anniversary.

For more than half of its existence Director Lillian Casillas has played a role in its growth. She first stepped foot in La Casa as an undergraduate student studying to be a social studies teacher and has now been the director for the last 28 years. 

“I came because my advisor recommended me to come here,” said Casillas. “I did some programming and then as I was in undergrad too I was the president of one of the organizations. So I was involved not only as a recipient of the services but I also helped contribute to the mission of creating community, programming, and educating others. When it came to then, fast forward to the future, about getting the position [I was] not really thinking I would stay this long. It was just a stepping stone to what I thought would be [my future] but honestly, I just fell in love.”

Casilla’s growth is symbiotic with La Casa as it also measures her growth as an educator and person. 

“I was thinking about that the other day I came here when La Casa was only 12 years old,” said Casillas. “I’m going to be here when it turns 50, that’s a big chunk of it. It’s more so when I think of it at the risk of sounding selfish or self-centered, it’s more so looking at my transition and my life stages as La Casa was also aging.”

El Dia de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, has been a recurring celebration held at La Casa since Casillas was a student. It has grown to be one of her most cherished programming La Casa has to offer.

“For me I’ll be honest, besides seeing people graduate at the graduation ceremony, it is one of my favorites,” said Casillas. “Because especially it is a very communal type of experience and I don’t mean just because for example we partner up with the other cultural centers and we try to do it in the style that I remember in Mexico which is not just in the home but a neighborhood celebration. But also for example even this year there been an explosion of people doing something across campus.”

La Casa collaborates with all the cultures scattered along East Seventh Street. This includes the LGBTQ+ Culture Center and the Canterbury House. Sophomore work-study employee Stephanie Belmontes helped prepare the celebration and collaborated with the centers.

“Honestly I love working with them,” said Belmontes. “It’s fairly easy to work with them. I feel like we kind of are able to bounce off of each other and come up with really good and unique ideas.”

La casa offers a variety of crafts such as painting Niches, which are shadow box frames included on altars. Also, an assortment of Mexican treats such as street corn, chocolate de Abuelita, and pan de muerto. Belmontes took charge of creating the altar featured at La Casa making sure to follow specific traditions.

“One specific thing that we always do and I know everyone does it is making sure that the elements are presented and the picture go on the top one,” said Belmontes. “I think it’s because it’s closer to heaven where we believe our ancestors are.”

For La Casa’s 50-year celebration Casillas hopes to involve current students and past alumni to celebrate its journey.

“So we have a weekend-long celebration, October 13 to the 15, so we have some receptions, banquets, and some other kinds of programming,” said Casillas. “Like a tour of campus especially for alumni who haven’t been here in a while and things have changed. So it’s a way of doing some very strategic types of programming to kind of reconnect folks to the campus and to la casa and to students.

Casillas has been a pillar for the Latinx community in Bloomington who works endlessly to advocate for them. When asked to define her legacy Casillas struggled to define it. 

“I guess for me I hope I left enough foundation in various aspects in the advocacy especially,” said Casillas. “For when people come after me and what their focus is and still continue to advocate but then they can have the tool that I helped build.”