{"id":9996,"date":"2024-09-18T13:39:11","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T13:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/?p=9996"},"modified":"2024-09-18T13:43:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T13:43:17","slug":"hispanic-heritage-month-puts-diversity-and-culture-at-the-forefront","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/hispanic-heritage-month-puts-diversity-and-culture-at-the-forefront\/","title":{"rendered":"Hispanic Heritage Month puts diversity and culture at the forefront"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press<\/a><\/p>\n

Sep 15, 2024 (AP): Huge celebrations across the U.S. are expected to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the awe-inspiring diversity and culture of Hispanic people.<\/p>\n

Celebrated each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the month is a chance for many in the U.S. to learn about and celebrate the contributions of Hispanics, the country’s fastest-growing racial or ethnic minority, according to the census. The group includes people whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.<\/p>\n

There are more than 65 million people identified as ethnically Hispanic in the U.S., according to the latest census estimates.<\/p>\n

Heritage week embraces the sprawling histories of Latinos<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before there was National Hispanic Heritage Month, there was Hispanic Heritage Week, which was created through legislation sponsored by Mexican American U.S. Rep. Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and signed into law in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.<\/p>\n

The weeklong commemoration was expanded to a month two decades later, with legislation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clustered around big celebrations for the community,\u201d Alberto Lammers, director of communications at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute said. \u201cIt became a chance for people to know Hispanic cultures, for Latinos to get to know a community better and for the American public to understand a little better the long history of Latinos in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

The month is a way for Hispanics to showcase their diversity and culture with the support of the government, said Rachel Gonzalez-Martin, an associate professor of Mexican American and Latino Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sept. 15 was chosen as the starting point to coincide with the anniversary of \u201cEl Grito de Dolores,\u201d or the \u201cCry of Dolores,\u201d which was issued in 1810 from a town in central Mexico that launched that country\u2019s war for independence from Spain.<\/p>\n

The Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica celebrate their independence on Sept. 15, and Mexico marks its national day on Sept. 16, the day after the cry for independence.<\/p>\n

Also during National Hispanic Heritage Month, the South American nation of Chile observes its independence day on Sept. 18.\u00a0Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day<\/a>, previously known as Columbus Day, is observed in the U.S. on the second Monday of October.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, the month has grown due to the larger Latino consumer base in the U.S., Gonzalez-Martin said. Gonzalez-Martin said visible support from the federal government, including celebrations at the White House, has also made it easier for Hispanics to celebrate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHispanic Heritage Month was a way in which to be Hispanic and Latino but with official blessing,\u201d Gonzalez-Martin said. \u201cIt was a recognition of belonging and that became really powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four-week period is about honoring the way Hispanic populations have shaped the U.S. in the past and present, Lammers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us a chance to acknowledge how Latinos have been part of this nation for so many centuries,\u201d Lammers said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what is great about this. It has allowed us to really dig deeper and a chance to tell our stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone who is Hispanic uses that label<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hispanic was a term coined by the federal government for people descended from Spanish-speaking cultures. But for some, the label has a connotation of political conservatism and emphasizes a connection to Spain. It sometimes gets mistakenly interchanged with \u201cLatino\u201d or \u201cLatinx.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some, Latino reflects their ties to Latin America. So some celebrations are referred to as Latinx or Latin Heritage Month.<\/p>\n

Latin Americans are not a monolith. There are several identifiers for Latin Americans, depending largely on personal preference. Mexican Americans who grew up during the 1960s Civil Rights era may identify as Chicano. Others may go by their family\u2019s nation of origin such as Colombian American or Salvadoran American.<\/p>\n

Each culture has unique differences when it comes to music, food, art and other cultural touchstones.<\/p>\n

Celebrations are planned throughout the month<\/strong><\/p>\n

From California to Florida, there will be no shortage of festivities. The celebrations tout traditional Latin foods and entertainment including, mariachi bands, folkl\u00f3rico and salsa lessons. The intent is to showcase the culture of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and other Latin countries.<\/p>\n

Events highlighting Hispanic culture include a quincea\u00f1era fashion show in Dallas on Sept. 14, the New York Latino Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 17-22, and the Viva Tampa Bay Hispanic Heritage Festival on Sept. 28-29.<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., is offering a\u00a0slate of activities<\/a>\u00a0elevating Hispanic heritage, including a celebration of the life of Celia Cruz and exhibits of art made in Mexico.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press Sep 15, 2024 (AP): Huge celebrations across the U.S. are expected to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the awe-inspiring diversity and culture of Hispanic people. Celebrated each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the month is a chance for many in the U.S. to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[220],"class_list":["post-9996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer-282x300.jpg",282,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"rtcl-gallery":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"rtcl-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer-320x240.jpg",320,240,true],"rtcl-gallery-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer-150x105.jpg",150,105,true],"psacp-medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer.jpg",323,344,false],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/dancer-45x45.jpg",45,45,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"LaPrensa Newspaper","author_link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/author\/laprensa\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Articles<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"By FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press Sep 15, 2024 (AP): Huge celebrations across the U.S. are expected to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the awe-inspiring diversity and culture of Hispanic people. Celebrated each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the month is a chance for many in the U.S. to","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10002,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions\/10002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9996"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=9996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}