Celebrating Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month
From September 15th to October 15th, Americans from all walks of life celebrate the famous Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month. Throughout this month, I have learned much about the histories, cultures, contributions, and the importance of Hispanic and Latino countries and peoples, and I would love to share my experiences!
History
In the beginning, it was solely known as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and was later expanded in 1988 to cover over an entire 30-day period by President Ronald Reagan. Subsequently, the month was enacted into a law that August with the approval of Public Law 100-402.
Current Celebration
Currently, many influential people of Hispanic-Latino origins are being celebrated. For example, the popular Mexican-American labor organizer Cesar Chavez fought for better working conditions and wages for farmworkers in the 60s and 70s. Other examples include governmental figures like U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. senator Marco Rubio, and Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor is a popular Latino figure at the moment since she is the first Latina justice to serve on the U.S. supreme court. There are also many essential athletes, such as Roberto Clemente. He became the first Latino player inducted into the national baseball hall of fame, followed by Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, and David Ortiz. Finally, there are many Hispanic-Latino entertainers, but to name a few, Selena, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Lopez, and Cardi B are celebrated to this day.
My Personal Celebration
At my school, Edgewood Jr/Sr High, I recently founded the Cultural Diversity Club, which aims to educate others and have fun learning about other cultures, as well as celebrating one’s own. As President of this club, I decided that we would celebrate each culture according to the Heritage Month it corresponds to at the beginning of the year. This being said, we are currently celebrating Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month. Along with two of the club’s members, Isabella Ramos and Marley Laughlin, we came up with a few fun and educational activities to participate in within this timespan. Both of them are of Hispanic origin, so they were a great help in teaching the other members about their culture and me! In the end, we decided to have a fun day where the members and their families could make traditional Hispanic dishes, give presentations about their origins, and bring in cultural artifacts. We are even planning on having a significant Hispanic role model in our community talk to us about her cultural experiences!
In the end, I learned about the importance of celebrating the national heritage months and endless new information on the Hispanic-Latino culture. I can’t wait to celebrate new cultures in the months to come!