Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 – Oct. 15

Everyday the world turns, and our brothers and sisters each live their lives, with their own past. Their own history, and their own future. Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) is an America’s way of recognizing the immense contributions those of hispanic dissent have made in this country since its founding.

As a country, the United States has only been around for less than 300 years, while nations like Spain have been kicking for some centuries more than that. Since Christopher Columbus sailed waiving a Spanish flag, called Tainos – Indians, and ignited the conquest and empirical colonialism of the New World; Hispanics have flourished.

Hispanic is the term denoting a people whose ancestry derives from any country that primarily speaks Spanish, as it references Spanish dissent. This world can often be interchangeable with Latino, another term I’m sure you’ve heard a lot.

Latino (now sometimes called Latinx to be gender neutral) refers to peoples from Latin America, from Mexico, through Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and even (the Portuguese speaking) Brazil, and (the creole patois speaking) Belize.

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the independence of many Hispanic countries from Spain, including:

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15th

Mexico on September 16th,

and Chile on September 18th.

It also incorporates Friendship Day, a holiday jointed by Puerto Rico & the U.S. Virgin Islands on October 9th.

Originally created in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage week, HHM was officially created in 1988. President Joe Biden said this regarding its celebration:

“I have often said that America can be defined in one word:  possibilities.  The Hispanic community has always embodied that ideal.  It lives in the dreams of those who have only just arrived here and in the legacy of families who have been here for centuries.  Latinos have helped chart America’s course since our start — as doctors and engineers; artists and entrepreneurs; and leaders in science, business, labor, government, and military and across grassroots movements.  Their faith and drive have pushed our country to grow, prosper, and pursue its highest ideals.”

So remember to show your Latin friends some love this month, and support the cultures that have helped build this country! 🙂

note from author:

^{I have always been extremely proud of my Latin culture, and in so many ways I wish I was even more in tune with it. I’m mixed: Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Nicaraguan, and growing up I’ve always believed that Latinos, in many ways, are a major pillar of Western and American civilization. Family, hard work, respect, love and fun, are what drive Hispanics/Latinos in my opinion, and I try to embody those values everyday. I hope you can appreciate them just as much as I do. -Danny Rios <3}