Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month started on September 15th and ends on October 15th.


As someone who is part Mexican, I am very proud of this heritage.  (My grandmother, like actress Eva Longoria's, lived in what is now the U.S. when it was Mexico, then the Republic of Texas and then part of the U.S.)

Hispanic Heritage Month, whose roots go back to 1968, begins each year on September 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Columbus Day (Día de la Raza) is October 12.

The term Hispanic or Latino, refers to Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. On the 2010 Census form, people of Spanish, Hispanic and/or Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin."

Today, 55 million people or 17% of the American population are of Hispanic or Latino origin. This represents a significant increase from 2000, which registered the Hispanic population at 35.3 million or 13% of the total U.S. population.

However, from an NBC Opinion by Raul A. Reyes:

For many Latinos, it is unsettling to approach Hispanic Heritage Month knowing that President Donald Trump generally holds us in low regard. Latinos’ relationship with Trump can perhaps best be described as mutual antipathy. 

The president is profoundly ignorant and incurious about our culture and contributions to this country. This was evident in his campaign, literally from start to end. He began his presidential run by declaring that Mexican immigrants were drug dealers and “rapists,” and finished it by falsely asserting that he lost the popular vote due to millions of “illegals” voting. Last year, he thought tweeting about a “taco bowl” from the Trump Tower grill was a good way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. He publicly insulted prominent Latinos, from senators to distinguished judges to trusted journalists. 

The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies have sown terror in immigrant communities. Trump pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio, infamous for his racial profiling of Hispanics. Trump’s Department of Justice is taking aim at affirmative action, and his attorney general just announced the end of DACA, the program that protected young immigrants from deportation. 

From climate change to LGBTQ rights to health care, the Trump administration has taken actions contrary to the interests of the Latino community. His administration even removed (and has yet to restore) Spanish-language content on the White House website. 

Given this reality, this is probably the worst Hispanic Heritage Month since the tradition began as a week-long celebration in 1968. 

If this is not a “happy” Hispanic Heritage Month, that doesn’t mean Latinos should not celebrate it.

For Latinos and our allies, the best way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2017 is to register to vote in the 2018 midterms. The future of the Latino community depends on political engagement like never before. A record number of 27 million Latinos were eligible to vote in 2016. Still, only 13 million turned out to vote in the presidential election that often felt like a referendum on our very identity as Americans. What happened to those other 14 million eligible voters? That is the question we Latinos must ask ourselves. 

Since Latinos cannot look to our president for leadership, we must look to each other; that means electing leaders who will hold the administration accountable.