Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The celebration started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on Sept. 15 and ending on Oct. 15.
The celebration starts in the middle of the
month, Sept. 15, because it marks the
independence of five Latin American countries:
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and Nicaragua. All declared independence in
1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize
celebrate their independence days on Sept.
16t, 18 and 21, respectively. Today, over 57 million people or 18 percent of the American population are of Hispanic or Latino origin.
Some famous Hispanic Americans include former astronaut and the current Director of the Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, baseball star Alex Rodriguez, comedian and TV star George Lopez, Senator Marco Rubio and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The Library of Congress has compiled guides
to commemorative observations, including a
comprehensive inventory of the Public Laws,
Presidential Proclamations and congressional
resolutions related to Hispanic American
Heritage Month. To access these resources or
for more information about the United Nations
and International Youth Day go to https://
hispanicheritagemonth.gov.
For resources in Spanish go to ¡Colorín Colorado! at http://www.colorincolorado.org/es/librosautores/
celebraciones-y-d%C3%ADas-festivos/
hispanic-heritage-month.
This feature about Hispanic Heritage Month was made possible because of community support for this newspaper’s Newspaper in Education program. Thank you to all who contributed.
Copyright 2021 New York Newspapers Foundation's News Media Literacy/NIE program- All rights reserved
You must be logged in to post a comment.