Huge celebrations across the U.S. are expected to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the broad 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 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.
There are more than 65 million people identified as ethnically Hispanic in the U.S., according to the latest census estimates.
Latinos’ sprawling histories
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.
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The weeklong commemoration was expanded to a month two decades later, with legislation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
“It was clustered around big celebrations for the community,†Alberto Lammers, director of communications at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute said. “It 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.â€
Members of the Cathedral City High School Ballet Folklorico pose for photo Jan. 16, 2023, before joining in the Kingdom Day Parade in Los Angeles.
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.
Sept. 15 was chosen as the starting point to coincide with the anniversary of “El Grito de Dolores,†or the “Cry of Dolores,†which was issued in 1810 from a town in central Mexico that launched that country’s war for independence from Spain.
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.
Also during National Hispanic Heritage Month, the South American nation of Chile observes its independence day on Sept. 18. Indigenous Peoples’ Day, previously known as Columbus Day, is observed in the U.S. on the second Monday of October.
Over the past decade, the month grew due to the larger Latino consumer base in the U.S., Gonzalez-Martin said. She said visible support from the federal government, including celebrations at the White House, has also made it easier for Hispanics to celebrate.
“Hispanic Heritage Month was a way in which to be Hispanic and Latino but with official blessing,†Gonzalez-Martin said. “It was a recognition of belonging and that became really powerful.â€
The four-week period is about honoring the way Hispanic populations have shaped the U.S. in the past and present, Lammers said.
“It gives us a chance to acknowledge how Latinos have been part of this nation for so many centuries,†he said. “I think that’s what is great about this. It has allowed us to really dig deeper and a chance to tell our stories.â€
The Hispanic label
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 “Latino†or “Latinx.â€
For some, Latino reflects their ties to Latin America. So some celebrations are referred to as Latinx or Latin Heritage Month.
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’s nation of origin such as Colombian American or Salvadoran American.
Each culture has unique differences when it comes to music, food, art and other cultural touchstones.
Celebrations planned all month
From California to Florida, there will be no shortage of festivities. The celebrations tout traditional Latin foods and entertainment including, mariachi bands, folklórico and salsa lessons. The intent is to showcase the culture of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and other Latin countries.
Events highlighting Hispanic culture include the New York Latino Film Festival and the Viva Tampa Bay Hispanic Heritage Festival.
The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., will offer a slate of activities elevating Hispanic heritage, including a celebration of the life of Celia Cruz and exhibits of art made in Mexico.
19 Hispanic historical milestones to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Early exploration
Saint Augustine, in the mid-1500s, was the first permanent European settlement in the U.S., introducing Catholicism and Spanish language in Florida. Spanish Adm. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida's first colonial governor, founded the settlement.
Hispanics, from the area today known as Mexico, explored North America a century before the British founded Jamestown in the early 1600s. In the picture, Spanish reenactment soldiers at Castillo de San Marcos check a cannon in St. Augustine, Fla.
West Texas and beyond
Explorer Diego de Vargas, in the late 1600s, led an expedition to the Guadalupe Mountains (Sierra de Guadalupe, pictured), in what is now West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, becoming the first non-Native American visitor to the area.
Los Angeles founded in 1781
A group of Spaniards, Afro-Latinos, indigenous people and mestizos setting out from colonial-era Mexico traveled into California and founded the city of Los Angeles, which, at about 5 million, has the country’s largest current Hispanic population.
Mexican Revolution
In 1910, the Mexican Revolution sent scores of Mexicans north, many settling in the American Southwest. In the picture, a Mexico City parade honors the start of the Revolution of 1910 against Porfirio Diaz.
Puerto Ricans granted U.S. citizenship
The United States extended both citizenship and, shortly after, military conscription to Puerto Rico in 1917, as World War I raged in Europe.
First senator
In 1928, Octaviano Larrazolo of New Mexico became the first Hispanic elected to the U.S. Senate. As a politician, he pushed to boost Hispanic representation so that the political system would reflect the state’s population. He also helped write portions of the state’s constitution guaranteeing that people of Mexican descent wouldn’t be disfranchised.
First high court justice
While most people think Sonia Sotomayor was the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, there is evidence that another came first. In 1932, Benjamin Nathan Cardozo replaced Oliver Wendell Holmes on the high court. His family was from the Iberian Peninsula.
School victory
In 1945, years before Brown v. Board of Education, Hispanics in Orange County, Calif., won an appeals court case that made separate Mexican schools unconstitutional.
Best actor win
In 1950, Jose Ferrer was the first Hispanic to win the Oscar for best actor for his role in “Cyrano de Bergerac.â€
Discrimination battle
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled Hispanics have equal protection under the 14th Amendment, providing a legal avenue to fight discrimination.
Cuban Revolution
In the years after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, led by Fidel Castro, more than one million Cubans left the island, with many settling in Miami, a city they transformed. Subsequent waves of Cubans migrated to the United States in the 1980s, with the Mariel boatlift, and the 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union upended the island’s economy.
Grape pickers strike
In 1965, Hispanic farmworker unions joined in a strike, and later a boycott of grapes in the Delano area of California to protest poor working conditions. The five-year campaign ultimately succeeded in forcing the grape producers to sign union contracts.
This victory helped secure the place of the United Farm Workers of America and its leader, Cesar Chavez, as a key player in the Hispanic civil rights movement.
Hispanic Heritage Month established
Hispanic Heritage Month was proclaimed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and begins each year on Sept. 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. Pictured is Then-Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro attending a reception for Hispanic Heritage Month in the East Room of the White House in 2016.
Roberto Clemente
A champion of black and Hispanic rights who began his career before the end of segregation, Roberto Clemente was the first Hispanic in professional baseball to reach 3,000 hits. He played in two World Series, winning MVP in 1971.
“My greatest satisfaction comes from helping to erase the old opinion about Latin Americans and blacks,†Clemente said. He died in a plane crash in 1972 while delivering supplies to Nicaragua after an earthquake.
Hiring practices
In 1986, Congress approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act, legalizing some undocumented workers and setting guidelines for hiring practices.
First astronaut
In 1991, Ellen Ochoa became the first female Hispanic astronaut, and went on to complete four space missions.
Rock hall of fame
In 1998, guitar master Carlos Santana was the first Hispanic inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Day Without Immigrants protest
In 2006, the first Day Without Immigrants protest, rallying against proposed new immigration laws, was held.
Hispanic population swells
Today, 57.5 million people, or 18 percent 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 percent of the total U.S. population.