Hispanic Heritage Month, started on Sep. 15 and ended on Oct. 15, commemorates the contributions, customs, and influence of the ever-growing Hispanic community in the United States.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Hispanic Heritage Month started as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 but was extended to a month approximately 20 years after its creation. Both began on Sep. 15 due to the various Latin American countries celebrating their Independence Day on Sep. 15, such as El Salvador and Guatemala.
“It is pretty nice that we have a month where we can reflect on important figures in the Hispanic community and also for the community to get together,” Justin Ayala an 18-year-old computer hardware major expressed his thoughts about his Hispanic heritage, “I believe that these things [heritage] can be celebrated honestly whenever, but I do see it [Hispanic Heritage Month] as positive seeing the community coming together. My heritage shapes me into who I am and I’m proud of it. I love my culture!”
“I think it [Hispanic Heritage Month] promotes a good message just like all of these months for specific groups. I think, if anything, it brings many together, and it celebrates the voices in their respective communities and the history in each of them,” Ayala added.
18-year-old Bucks County Resident Angeline Quintero comments, “It’s important to know we have at least a month we are known and appreciated.”
Sam Rivas, a student at Holy Family University, shared similar sentiments, saying, “Hispanic Heritage Month means the recognition of Hispanic cultures and influence. Everyone deserves recognition of their culture and backgrounds.” Says Rivas
In contrast, Temple University student Adan Hernandez said, “Hispanic Heritage Month is just another ordinary month for me. I don’t think there’s a need for months like Hispanic Heritage Month,” Hernandez explains. “If you put the spotlight on a specific group for a month, we bring it back to the issue of race.”
Ends Adan
According to CBS News, a study from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and UnidosUS showed that while the percentage of Latino public-school students in the U.S. has been growing, high school textbooks still overlook a large portion of Latino history.
Chief Diversity Officer at Bucks and Associate Vice President of Community and Government Relations, Kevin Antoine, J.D., stated, “The importance of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month is multifaceted. It educates the public on the sacrifices, and successes, of people who identify as Hispanic and the impact they have on the United States and the Western Hemisphere.”
“Hispanic Heritage Month to me means taking pride in my parents’ heritage and appreciating every sacrifice they have made up to this point to grant me a better life and caring for their heritage to future generations,” said Bucks Student Business Major Eric Juarez.
Juarez adds, “I think everyone belonging to a specific group that has gone through blood and sweat for a better life should deserve at least a day/week/even month of recognition to know such specific groups’ history and what they have gone through.”
According to data from July 2022 from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 63.7 million Hispanics in the U.S., which is around 19 percent of the population in the U.S.
Chris Lopez, a 21-year-old Liberal Arts major from Holland, states, “While these months [about specific groups] are nice things, they drive certain people up a wall–which is a shame because it turns a nice thing into a hated thing.”