[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="275.0"] Author Mary Ann Villarreal is the keynote speaker for Cal State Fullerton's Sept. 16 Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff.[/caption]

Cal State Fullerton President Mildred García is kicking off the university's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with a 5:30 p.m. reception Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Fullerton Marriott. The public is welcome.

The celebration's keynote speaker is Mary Ann Villarreal, director of strategic initiatives and university projects, who will present "Con Ganas y Amor: The Extraordinary Impact of Everyday Lives" — a discussion of how Texas Mexican women business owners redefined their communities by developing informal economic structures.

Villarreal is the author of "Listening to Rosita: The Business of Tejana Music and Culture 1930-1955," due out next month from the University of Oklahoma Press. It's part of a series on "Race and Culture in the American West."

 At Wednesday's event, she will offer a glimpse into the oral histories on which the book is based, including that of her grandmother.

The Fullerton Marriott is on the southeast corner of campus, at the Nutwood offramp of the 57 freeway.