The Hispanic
Heritage Month in the United States is almost over, and a lot have brought out their
sombreros and have a fiesta!
¡Hola, chicos y
chicas! It’s the time of year to celebrate the National Hispanic Heritage
Month, a time when America honors the great and numerous contributions that the
Latino Americans and the Hispanics made to its culture and traditions.
The Hispanic Heritage
celebrations began in 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson declared the week
covering September 15 and 16 as Hispanic Heritage Week. In 1988, President
Ronald Reagan stretched it out into a month-long celebration beginning on
September 15 and ending on October 15. It was also enacted into law in the same
year.
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| Cutting the cake in celebration of the National Hispanic Heritage Month |
The month of September
marks the independence of several Latin American countries from their Spanish
colonizers; Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua on the 15th;
Mexico, Chile and Belize on the 16th, 18th and 21st,
respectively. The duration of celebration also coincides with the discovery of
America by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1942.
So what better time to
honor the Latin Americans who have greatly contributed to American culture and
progress, making it the rich and colorful nation that it is now!
The Hispanics have
been in the United States as early as 1565, in the fortress of St. Augustine in
Florida, the first continuous settlement made by Europeans in North America. It
was founded decades earlier than the settlement in Jamestown in Virginia. The
Hispanics had a small outpost that they had built in Alta California in San
Francisco in 1176. They were also in Texas when it was still a separate
province, where the vaqueros or cowboys found work in the cattle ranches.
The Hispanic Community
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Dancers from the Hinesville Hispanic Club
demonstrate dances native to Mexico during the Hispanic Heritage celebration at
Fort Stewart's Main Post Chapel
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So what exactly are we
celebrating here? The Hispanic population constitutes 16% of the U.S.
population, according to the 2010 Census. It is the largest and fastest growing
minority group in the United States. These are people whose origins could be
traced back to Latin America, South America and Spain. The influence of this
group of people goes deep into the fiber of the American heritage itself.
Beginning with the discovery of the Americas by Spanish explorer Christopher
Columbus, the presence of Hispanics or Latinos in North America has only grown
both in number and influence. Now we have Hispanics from all walks of life,
from some of the high seats in government to the noblest jobs on the streets,
who are part of the country’s backbone and whose toil has helped bring North
America to the great nation that it is today.
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| President Barack Obama meets with Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor |
As mentioned,
Hispanics are all over the socio-economic and political strata, from top to
bottom. One could not fail to mention Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia
Sotomayor who is of Puerto Rican descent. She is the first Hispanic justice and
the third female justice of the Supreme Court. There is also current Labor
Secretary Hilda Solis, who is of Nicaraguan and Mexican descent and is also the
first Hispanic woman Senator.
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Former Pittsburgh
Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente
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In sports, we see many
Latinos in baseball. In 2008, Latinos constituted 27% of major league baseball
players. There is the legendary Roberto Clemente of Puerto Rican roots who was
a two time World Series Champion and a World Series MVP in 1971. He played for
the Pittsburgh Pirates and died in a plane crash while on a relief mission in
Nicaragua. More recent baseball stars include Dominican-American Alex Rodriguez
of the New York Yankees, who is a World Series Champion and three-time AL MVP.
There is also the another Dominican-American Manny Ramirez, formerly of the
Tampa Bay Rays, who is a two-time World Series Champion and World Series MVP.
Hispanics and Latinos
in the United States are included in the long list of people who are in the
field of sports, such as baseball, football (soccer), boxing, American
football, golf, ice hockey, martial arts, wrestling and other sports. They are
also into arts and entertainment, making a great mark in the U.S. as actors,
directors, musicians, models, filmmakers, poets, authors, artists and
journalists. They are in the military, in politics, education, science and
technology and they are in business and entrepreneurship.
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Salma Hayek
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In the entertainment
industry, we have actress/director/producer Salma Hayek who played Frida Kahlo
in the movie Frida and was nominated
for Best Actress in the Academy Awards; comedian and talk show host George
Lopez; actress America Ferrara of Ugly Betty fame, and singer/actress Jennifer
Lopez who is one of the highest paid celebrities in Hollywood and also
recognized as the most influential Hispanic performer in the U.S. Who could
forget the sound of the Miami Sound Machine and the captivating voice of Gloria
Estefan, who was born in Cuba and been named the Queen of Latin Pop? Enigmatic
Hollywood actor Andy Garcia was also born in Cuba.
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Mario Molina, at
the Nobel Laurate Globalsymposium 2011
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In the field of
science, Mario Molina, brought pride by being awarded the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in 1995 for his study of the effect of chlorofluorocarbons on the
atmosphere.
Why Celebrate?
Some may ask, why the
need to celebrate this ethnic background when everyone now is just as American
as anyone else. President Barack Obama, in his Presidential Proclamation,
called on the whole nation to “honor the
achievements of Hispanics in America” and at the same time to “remember there is more work to be done to
widen the circle of opportunity for the Hispanic community and keep the
American dream within reach for all who seek it.” Celebrating, appreciating
the presence of people of different cultural backgrounds helps the nation,
particularly the new generation, to appreciate and respect ethnic diversity,
especially in a country that is already a melting pot of various cultures and
ethnicity. While supporting the Hispanic community to foster pride in their
heritage especially among their young, it also helps promote a greater sense of
unity among the greater population that ultimately results in the nation’s
advancement. So what we are celebrating here is not only the traditions,
customs and contributions of the Hispanics and the Latinos, but also the
nation’s capacity to adopt each unique cultural group and sculpt out a whole
new American culture from this diversity.
The Festivities
To participate in the
tribute to the Hispanic community, various museums have set up exhibits highlighting
the rich heritage of their culture.
The Smithsonian
Institute for instance holds an exhibition of the Celia Cruz Portrait by Robert
Weingarten. It is a collection of digital images of objects in the museum that
relate to Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz. It runs from October 3-30, 2012 at the
American History Museum. Another exhibit is that of the personal belongings of
Peruvian composer Clotilde Arias. In 1946, she was commissioned by the U.S.
Department of State to provide an official Spanish translation of the National
Anthem. This exhibit runs from September 27, 2012 to April 28, 2013 at the
American History Museum. The Smithsonian Magazine, on the other hand, features
articles related to Hispanic culture, such as an article on The Changing
Demographics of America, an interview with George Lopez regarding comedy and
race, and a feature on the photo essay of Camilo Jose Vergara on Harlem and
other American urban communities.
The state capitol in
Albany, NY holds an exhibit entitled "El
Futuro es Ahora" which honors the contributions to society of 25 New
Yorkers of various Hispanic origins. Among those given tribute are Supreme
Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, American folk singer Joan Baez,
fashion designer Oscar de la Renta and actress Rita Moreno, to name a few. The
exhibit is open during the weekdays throughout fall.
The Los Angeles County
Museum presented an exhibit entitled Children of the Plumed Serpent: The Legacy
of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico, which is now relocated at the Dallas Museum
of Art. It emphasizes the crucial role of art in shaping a culture by featuring
artifacts related to Mexican traditions and customs. This exhibit will be
available for viewing until November 5, 2012.
The Library of
Congress pays homage to war veterans with Hispanic roots. The National Park
Services held youth summits with the aim of bringing on board young Latinos in the project of preserving their
communities. It also aims to promote the use of historic places in education.
One of the summits was held on March 5-7, 2012 at Washington DC.
On a more festive
level, San Jose celebrated ¡VivaFest! 2012 or the 21st Annual San
Jose Mexican Heritage and Mariachi Festival. It is a ten-day celebration of
Mexican heritage arts, with particular focus on the Mariachi, which has been
named by UNESCO as an “intangible cultural heritage” that needs to be
preserved. The festival includes film showings, concerts and music and dance
workshops. Most of the activities were scheduled during the month of September
but the ¡VivaFest! 2012 will officially end on November 3 with the Dia de los
Muertos Community Concert and Family at the Davies Symphony Hall.
Other tributes to the
music and dance culture of the Latino community include the Jose Limon
Celebration Day in Flushing, NY and a performance of La Cumbiamba eNeYe at the
Long Island Museum in Stony Brook, New York.
In sports, the Texas
Tech Athletics celebrated their roots and their culture by the Hispanic
Heritage Appreciation Game against the University of Oklahoma.
PBS also pays homage
to the Hispanic culture by airing informative and entertaining programs that
showcase the culture and traditions of the Latino community. PBS also provides
viewers the option of watching the shows online at their preferred time.
Educating the Younger Generation
In the aim of
promoting awareness of Hispanic culture among students and fostering pride in
this unique culture, various websites offer educators with learning resources
in support of the National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Some suggested
activities by the Smithsonian include an introduction to the Carnival
celebrations of Peru by creating masks, an exposure to vaqueros or cowboy
culture through a deeper knowledge of the Spanish language, and a Hispanic
musical journey via a virtual exhibition.
The New York Times
suggests discussing the lives of famous Hispanics, delving into Hispanic
cuisine by eating out or having cooking lessons, exploring Latino
neighborhoods, studying literature by Latino writers like Isabel Allende, or
examining Latino music and its influences on pop music.
Educationworld.com
also proposes art projects like inviting students to design postage stamps that
could be included in the Hispanic Heritage stamp series. For younger students,
a study of English words derived from the Spanish language and creating a
dictionary is recommended.
Moving Forward
With all these
festivities and celebrations, paying homage to the Hispanic culture during the
month, it is more important to remember throughout the year this rich heritage
and reflect on what it means to be part of a bigger nation that is the United
States. Ultimately, the goal is not only to take pride in one’s roots but to
use this legacy as a tool to further the progress of human civilization for
without the struggles of people from the past we would not be where we are
today, and we would not have what it takes to move forward.
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1 comment:
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