by Eric Lopez
If you’re hispanic and you don’t know that Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15-October 15, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? You’re running out of time. If by chance you’re reading this after the month is over you should keep it in mind for next time, even though it should be celebrated everyday, so you can make the most out of it. In the meantime you should read this article if you want to see how other people celebrate it and learn more about the best 30-days ever.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration of hispanic cultures that is extremely important to and should be celebrated by everyone who is a hispanic race. This holiday started off as a one week celebration in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson and then in 1988 it was expanded to a 30-day time period by President Ronald Reagan which starts September 15 and ends October 15. Over time the holiday was enacted into law on the approval of Public Law 100-402. The day of September 15 is important because it is the Anniversary of self direction for Latin american countries costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile note their celebration days days on September 16 and September 18, separately. Also, Columbus Day or Dia de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period of time. In the United States alone there is about 53 million people who have hispanic heritage.
Hispanic Heritage Month “pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society. There are many ways people celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. Latinos celebrate Hispanic heritage through festivities that highlight the music and food that praise the country’s history and rich culture. What my family does to celebrate hispanic heritage month is we go out to a hispanic restaurant and we share time with each other while having a great time. When celebrating hispanic heritage month you don’t need to have a huge and expensive celebration, being with your family is really all the celebration you need to show your appreciation to the holiday. It would be nice if more people other than hispanics cared about this holiday, but either way it’s not going to change how we celebrate it.
I interviewed a student here at Freedom High School about their opinion and things they do during hispanic heritage month and he had some pretty interesting answers. First I asked him where he and his parents were from and if he celebrated the holiday and he said that he is and his parents are peruvian and yes he does celebrate the holiday. Next I asked him how he celebrated the holiday and he said that every year he goes to a peruvian restaurant with his family and he has this one dish that he always eats in celebration of the holiday which is called “arroz y chaufa”. As far as his opinion goes he said that he likes the holiday more than his parents do. What he loves the most about the holiday is how he gets to spend time with his grandparents and his aunt and uncle which he doesn’t see that often which means that every time the holiday comes around he gets super excited.