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“I don’t want to say that they didn’t get [the speaker last year], but we felt like they were sort of underwhelmed by the speech,” said Bailey-Turner, who is in charge of the C2C address. “And so we decided we wanted someone everybody can identify with. And what better than to find someone who created a cartoon that everybody knows?”

Cortes, professor emeritus in history at the University of California-Riverside, will arrive in the Twin Cities this week for his address on Thursday night at the Hamline United Methodist Church. Cortes specializes in multiculturalism and media, and he also serves as the Creative/Cultural Adviser for Nickelodeon’s award-winning cartoon, Dora the Explorer.

Dora, an animated Hispanic girl with a penchant for adventure, premiered on her series in 2000 and quickly became one of the most famous and adored multicultural cartoon characters. It was Cortes’ knowledge of how media influences multiculturalism that drew him the show and it’s that same knowledge that has brought him to Hamline as a keynote speaker.

“I hope that students will come away with an understanding of why diversity is important and how it relates to them,” said Carlos Sneed, assistant dean of students for diversity and community. “Because he’s a professor emeritus, he’ll do a good job speaking to our liberal arts mindset.”

Bailey-Turner, a junior Social Justice major, said students who attend the speech will get a good understanding of what diversity is.

“I think people will realize Hamline is more than just buildings and classes and professors,” she said. “We are part of the Midway community. We have a diverse community and a diverse university and I think people might start to think about where they fit into the idea of multiculturalism.”

Sneed says he expects between 600-900 people to attend the speech, which marks the end of Community Week, though C2C is trying to branch into the Midway for potential audience members.

“We have invited specific types of groups, namely the Hispanic, Latina and Latino groups cause Carlos Cortes has that nationality,” Bailey-Turner said. “And so we’re hoping we can engage more community members so we can start to engage in our community.”

Also as part of Community Week, Cortes will be performing an hour-long, one-act play entitled A Conversation with Alana: One Boy’s Multicultural Rite of Passage the night before in the Student Center chapel. The play will focus on Cortes’ experiences growing up in the segregated neighborhoods of Kansas City. Bailey-Turner says the play will give students an opportunity to see if they are interested in Cortes before attending the keynote address.

The play will start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 27, with the address at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Methodist church. Tickets for the address are free and available at the student center information desk. Sneed says walk-up tickets should be made available as well.