Celebrate the Hispanic culture

Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15 every year to celebrate the contributions to the culture that Hispanics and Latinos have offered to the United States. During this month, people learn and embrace types of Hispanic cultures that they may or may not be familiar with.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in various ways, including through festivals and parades. Often times, there are specialized exhibits featuring Latin American art and artifacts at museums during Hispanic Heritage Month. For example, in 2017 the Natural Museum of American History had some of singer Selena’s outfits on display. In addition to this, Hispanic dance performances occurred throughout the month that the museum hosted.

Hispanic is not a race, it is an ethnicity. Being Hispanic means that you are a Spanish-speaking person living in the United States. Because of this, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates many different cultures. For example, Dominican culture, Puerto Rican culture, Salvadoran culture, and numerous more Latin American cultures.

Originally Hispanic Heritage Month was simply Hispanic Heritage Week, but it was extended to a month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to last an entire month. In this same year, it became law that Hispanic Heritage Month would exist every fall from mid-September to mid-October. Hispanic Heritage Month begins on the 15th of September, because that is the anniversary of independence of multiple Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Additionally, Mexico’s Independence Day is on September 16, Chile’s Independence Day is September 18, and Belize’s Independence Day is on September 21, so September is a very significant month for Hispanics.