Explorers from Europe first came to the Americas in the 1400s. Many were from Spain. They settled on the land. More than 63 million Hispanic people now live in the United States. This is a time to celebrate their ! It is Hispanic Month in the United States. It runs from September 15 to October 15.
Hispanic Heritage Month started as National Hispanic Heritage Week. President Lyndon B. Johnson created that in 1968. Esteban Torres wanted to turn the week into a month-long event. He was a lawmaker from Los Angeles, California. But his law didn’t pass.
Paul Simon was lawmaker from Illinois. He suggested a similar law. This law passed. President Ronald Reagan made it official in 1988. But why does Hispanic Heritage Month begin on September 15?
Five Hispanic countries mark that day as their Independence Day. They are Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Mexico celebrates independence on September 16. And Chile does on September 18!
The United States has a holiday on the second Monday of October. It marks the day in 1492 when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. Mexico used to celebrate Columbus Day too. Lawmakers there changed the holiday in 2020. Now it is the “Day of the Nation.” Some Hispanic people use the day to celebrate their Spanish and heritage. For example, people in Peru, Canada, and the United States honor Indigenous Peoples from the Americas then. Canada has a similar month-long celebration. It has Latin American Heritage Month in October.
The 2024 theme for Hispanic Heritage Month is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.” It encourages people to look at Hispanic changemakers.
Puerto Rican artist Mariana I. Purcell Rivera created the 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month Poster. Her artwork shows Hispanic legends. Sonia Sotomayor, Roberto Clemente, Ellen Ochoa, Julia Alvarez, Cesar Chávez, and Rita Moreno are on the poster. She says they show “there are no to what we can do and offer to the world.”
Rivera’s poster also includes Hispanic children. Each child has their own dream. Rivera said she wants people to “join in and dream.” The artist added:
“The future is ours to shape.”
By Hannah Marcum
Updated September 13, 2024, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
