Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15th to October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. This month celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of people whose ancestors came from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico, and Spain.
Each year, the United States observes National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of people whose ancestors came from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico and Spain.
The observation 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 September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988.
Why September 15th?
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.
Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight
José M. Hernández
From migrant farmworker to astronaut: a true story is now a movie. (2023, September 19). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latino-astronaut-jose-m-hernandez-life-story-now-movie-rcna105771
Family
Born August 7, 1962, Hernández and his wife Adela have five children. For several years, his wife ran a Mexican restaurant just outside the Johnson Space Center gates, called Tierra Luna Grill, which is Spanish for Earth Moon Grill. Hernández owns a 20-acre vineyard near Lodi, California and in 2021 began bottling wine under the Tierra Luna Cellars label.
Education
José Hernández was a first-generation college student who graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pacific in 1984. In 1986, Hernández earned a Master’s Degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. While in college, he was involved in the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement MESA program, an academic preparation program that provides support to students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds so they can attain four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) fields.
Career
Hernández started his career as an engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, contributing to research in science materials that include X-ray lasers and radiation detection. Although his work in science and technology was notable, he dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He applied to NASA eleven times before he was selected as a mission specialist. He was eventually chosen to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009. Determination was ingrained deeply in José. After retiring from NASA in 2011, Hernández became active in promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in education, especially among Latino youth. José Hernández’s life story symbolizes the power of education, persistence, and the ability to overcome adversity.
Frida Kahlo
Ryan. (n.d.). Frida Kahlo - Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. https://www.mmoca.org/learn/teaching-pages/frida-kahlo/
Lozano, Luis-Martín; Kettenmann, Andrea; Vázquez Ramos, Marina; Taschen, Benedikt, eds. (2021). Frida Kahlo: the complete paintings. Köln: Taschen GmbH. ISBN 978-3-8365-7420-4. OCLC 1255833086
Family
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was born July 6, 1907 to a German father and a mestiza mother. Kahlo spent most of her childhood and adult life at La Casa Azul, her family home in Coyoacán – now publicly accessible as the Frida Kahlo Museum. She was in poor health as a child and became disabled by polio at the age of 6. She had to be bedridden for nine months and the disease caused her right leg and foot to grow much thinner than her left one. Later in life Kahlo had been a promising student headed for medical school until being injured in a bus accident at the age of 18, which caused her lifelong pain and medical problems. Confined to her bed in a full body cast for months it was during this recovery where she returned to her childhood interest in art with the idea of becoming an artist.
Education
Frida attended the renowned National Preparatory School in Mexico City in the year of 1922. There were only thirty-five female students enrolled in that school and she soon became famous for her outspokenness and bravery. At this school she first met the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera for the first time. Rivera at that time was working on a mural called The Creation on the school campus. Frida often watched it and she told a friend she will marry him someday. She wed Diego Rivera in 1929 and spent the late 1920’s and 1930’s traveling with her husband. During this time her passion and style truly developed.
Career
Frida was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country’s popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. In addition to belonging to the post-revolutionary Mexicayotl movement, which sought to define a Mexican identity, Kahlo has been described as a surrealist or magical realist. She is also known for painting about her experience of chronic pain. She is the first Mexican artist to be featured in the Louvre with a pieced titled The Frame.
Cesar Chavez
Chavez. (2019, September 9). Biography. https://www.biography.com/activists/cesar-chavez
Family
A second-generation American, Cesar was born on March 31, 1927, near his family's farm in Yuma, Arizona. At age ten, his family became migrant farm workers after losing their farm in the Great Depression. Throughout his youth and into his adulthood, Cesar migrated across the southwest laboring in the fields and vineyards, where he was exposed to the hardships and injustices of farm worker life.
In 1948, César Estrada Chávez married Helen Fabela. César and Helen were partners in marriage and work. Helen quietly supported César in his efforts and provided stability for the family while César was working tirelessly for the cause of the migrant workers. Between 1949 and 1958, Helen and César had eight children.
Education
After achieving only an eighth-grade education, Cesar left school to work in the fields full-time to support his family. He attended more than 30 elementary and middle schools. Although his formal education ended then, he possessed an insatiable intellectual curiosity, and was self-taught in many fields and well-read throughout his life.
Cesar's life cannot be measured in material terms. He never earned more than $6,000 a year. He never owned a house. When Cesar passed, he had no savings to leave to his family.
Career
For more than three decades Cesar led the first successful farm workers union in American history, achieving dignity, respect, fair wages, medical coverage, pension benefits, and humane living conditions, as well as countless other rights and protections for hundreds of thousands of farm workers. Against previously insurmountable odds, he led successful strikes and boycotts that resulted in the first industry-wide labor contracts in the history of American agriculture. His union's efforts brought about the passage of the groundbreaking 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act to protect farm workers. Today, it remains the only law in the nation that protects the farm workers' right to unionize.
Richard Montañez
Whalen, A. (2019, August 27). The true story of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos inventor Richard Montañez. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/flamin-hot-cheeto-movie-true-story-creator-richard-montanez-1456377
Family
Montañez was born August 15, 1959 to a Mexican-American family in Ontario, California. One of ten siblings, he was raised in a migrant labor camp surrounded in poverty in Guasti an unincorporated community outside of Los Angeles.
Education
He dropped out of school and worked as a laborer before being hired at the age of 18 as a janitor for Frito-Lay, at its Rancho Cucamonga factory, in 1976.
Career
Roughly a year after Jose started with Frito-Lay a Cheetos machine broke down, he took home a batch of unflavored snacks and seasoned them with spices similar to Mexican street corn. He pitched this idea to CEO Roger Enrico over the phone and was invited to deliver an in-person presentation, which he prepared for by researching marketing at the public library. public library. Montañez then presented the product as appealing to the growing Latino market, and provided samples in plastic bags that he had hand-decorated and sealed. It was soft-launched six months later to a test market in Los Angeles, and approved for national release in 1992. Newsweek reported that the flavor, since expanded to a full product line, "rejuvenated the brand" and garnered billions in revenue. He eventually became the Vice President of Multicultural Sales and Community Promotions at PepsiCo. Richard’s life story is often cited as an example of the “American Dream” and highlights the value of grit and thinking outside the box.
Selena Quintanilla Pérez
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024, August 21). Selena | Biography, Songs, Husband, Movie, Death, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Selena-American-singer
Family
Selena Quintanilla Pérez was born April 16, 1971. The youngest child of the Quintanilla family, she debuted on the music scene as a member of the band Selena y Los Dinos, which also included her elder siblings A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla. In the 1980s, she was often criticized and was refused bookings at venues across Texas for performing Tejano music—a male-dominated music genre. However, her popularity grew after she won the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987, which she won nine consecutive times. She signed with EMI Latin in 1989 and released her self-titled debut album the same year, while her brother became her principal music producer and songwriter. Selena married Chris Pérez in 1992. Selena was tragically murdered in 1995 at 23 years old in a hotel room in Corpus Christi, Texas by the president of her fan club.
Education
At seventeen, Selena earned a high school diploma from the American School of Correspondence in Chicago and was also accepted at Louisiana State University. She enrolled at Pacific Western University, taking up business administration as her major subject.
Career
Selena Quintanilla Pérez was often referred to as the “Queen of Latin Music”, her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. In 2020, Billboard magazine put her in third place on their list of "Greatest Latino Artists of All Time”.
I say Hispanic you say Latinx.
What's the difference?
VS.
Latin America & Its Language
There are several definitions of what Latin America consists of. It's sometimes described as a geographic region that consists of countries south of the United States (including the Carribean), those countries colonized primarily by Spain, France & Portugal and as a result primarily speak those romance languages, or just the Countries colonized by either Spain or Portugal.
Although several languages are spoken throughout Latin America (Spanish, Portuguese, French Guiana, French Caribbean, Quechua, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, Mayan language and Mapudungun to name a few) Spanish is the official language in most countries, and it is spoken by the vast majority of the population.
Spanish
is the official language of the following 20 countries, as well as Puerto Rico: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also commonly spoken in Andorra, Belize, Gibraltar and United States.
Other Observances
The following are a few observances celebrated by the community, some of which are only observed in the United States like Hispanic Heritage Month. Should you want to add more to the list, contact edi@nctc.edu.
January 6 - Día de los Reyes Magos
Día de los Reyes Magos or Three Kings Day. In many Catholic countries, this is the time for Christmas fun. Traditionally the children receive gifts on this day rather than on Christmas. Since the Three Kings brought gifts, people exchange presents and children put out their shoes for the magi to leave the presents inside.
January 26 - Juan Pablo Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
Known as the Dominican Republic's Father of national independence, Juan Pablo Duarte organized La Trinitaria in 1838, a secret resistance group whose efforts culminated in the declaration of independence on February 27, 1844.
March 5 - Carnival
Carnival takes place in many Roman Catholic countries in the last days and hours before the Lent season which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days (excluding Sundays). The most famous carnival in Latin America is the one held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
March 8 - International Women's Day
March 21 - Birth of Benito Juarez (Mexico)
One of the national heroes of Mexico, Benito Juarez served his country as president during the turbulent period from 1855 until his death, and instituted a number of civil reforms. He led the military resistance to the French emperor’s attempt to impose Maximilian of Austria as emperor of Mexico.
March 22 - Emancipacion Day (Puerto Rico)
Emancipation Day (Puerto Rico). Slaves in Puerto Rico were freed on this date in 1873.
March 29-April 4 — La Semana Santa (Holy Week)
This is another important and deeply religious Hispanic holiday. The Holy Week is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. Not surprisingly, some of the most notable celebrations of the Holy Week occur in Latin American countries, including: Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Perú.
March 31 - Cesar Chavez Holiday (United States: 10 States)
Cesar Chavez Day honors the Mexican-American labor and civil rights activist who gained attention in the 1960s as the leader of the United Farm Workers. His non-violent advocacy approach earned him worldwide respect. It is not a federal holiday, but is a state holiday in California. It is either an optional or commemorative day in nine other states - Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Rhode Island.
May 1 - Día del Trabajo/Trabajador
Día del Trabajador, also known as International Worker's Day, is the equivalent of Labor Day which is celebrated in the U.S. and Canada on the first Monday in September.
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo
Cinco De Mayo commemorates the Mexican Army's successful defense of the city of Puebla against invading French forces in 1862. It is not Mexico Independence Day.
May - Día de las Madres
Although most Latin American countries celebrate Mothers Day in May, there's a difference in dates and some celebrate other days of the year:
Second Sunday in May
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, United States, Honduras, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela
May 10
Mexico, Belice, El Salvador, Guatemala
May 15 - Paraguay
May 27 - Bolivia
May 30 - Nicaragua
Last Sunday of the month - Domincan Republic
August 15 - Costa Rica
Third Sunday of October - Argentina
December 8 - Panama
Third Sunday of June - Día del Padre
Although the majority of countries celebrate Fathers Day on the third Sunday of June, there are some who celebrate on other days of the year:
March 19
Bolivia, Honduras, Spain, Portugal
June 17
El Salvador, Guatemala
June 23 - Nicaragua
Second Sunday in July
Argentina, Uruguay
Last Sunday in July - Dominican Republic
Second Sunday of August - Brazil