People across the country will be celebrating National Hispanic Heritage month, the month long celebration of Hispanic history and culture as it begins September 15 and continues until October 15.
The International Student Organization in collaboration with the Student and Community Engagement office will be having an event on September 18 in Building 8 in the stage area. The event will consist of Hispanic game demonstrations, open dancing, free food and a speaker, who will speak on the important difference between Hispanic and Latino culture.
The theme of this year’s national celebration is Hispanics: A Legacy of History, A Present of Action and A Future of Success.
“Some students feel that the month long celebration is a way for the government to show its appreciation of the Hispanic culture,” said Luis Miranda, President of the Student International Club. Originally established by President Lyndon Johnson as a weeklong celebration in 1968, the event was expanded by President Ronald Reagan into a month long celebration in 1988.
The significance of September 15 comes from the anniversary of the independence of several Latin American countries, such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Respectively, the countries of Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their days of independence on September 16, 18 and 21.
People of Hispanic culture are the largest minority group in the United States, and their population has increased nearly six-fold since 1970.
According to the United States census, there are over 50 .5 million of Hispanic descent in the United States. Over 362,000, about three percent of Ohio’s population, claim Hispanic heritage today according to the Pew Research Center.
Many people have different ways to celebrate this time of year.
Yira Argumedo, Sinclair student from Columbia, says that she and her family will be celebrating the beginning of the event by having a huge dinner with other families.
Events and festivals will occur across the country during the month long celebration. From festivals in Washington D.C., New Orleans, New York City and across the country.
Events include art shows, music, dancing, and at Walt Disney World resort, as everywhere, the celebration will be about the food. Dayton held its Hispanic heritage Festival last month on August 17 at Riverscape Metro Park.
Even national department store, Macy’s, honored three Latina women for their contributions in fashion and pop culture, to commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month.
“Macy’s recognizes and values the contributions Latinos have made to our nation, not only in fashion, but also in beauty and every aspect of American popular culture,” said Dineen Garcia, Macy’s vice president of Diversity Strategies in a MarketWatch report on
September 11. “We look forward to celebrating these achievements with our Hispanic Heritage Month events from coast-to-coast,” Tom Roberts of the Student Community Engagement office said Sinclair is a diverse community college.
“It is important for communities to celebrate as a way to better
understand each other,” said Tom Roberts. “A way to understand a community is to experience their food, dance, music and even writings, because celebrating diversity is important to us as people and as a college.”