Nat'l Hispanic Heritage Month begins

You call yourself a Latina, gringa? - D*mn right I do. Soy mestiza ("I'm blended").

John Leguizamo on The Daily Show talks about the plight of Latin representation.

National Hispanic Heritage Month (Spanish Mes nacional de la herencia hispana) is an annual celebration from September 15 to October 15 in the United States.

It is for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States [1, 2].

History

Isn't it Latinx? Hispanic is good enough

National Hispanic Heritage Week was established by legislation sponsored by Rep. George Brown Jr. of Los Angeles and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 [3, 4, 5], taking place on the week including both September 15 and 16 [6].

In 1988, the commemorative week was expanded to a month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) by legislation sponsored by Rep. Esteban Torres (D–CA), amended by Senator Paul Simon, and signed into law by Pres. Ronald Reagan [3].

September 15th was chosen as the starting point for the commemoration because it is the anniversary of the Cry of Dolores (early morning, September 16, 1810), which marked the start of the Mexican War of Independence that resulted (1821) in independence for the New Spain Colony (now Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua), which became the Federal Republic of Central America.

Latinos from Latin America are the most diverse race or raza (category) in the world.

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This 30-day period also includes many dates of importance in the Hispanic community.

• Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua celebrate their anniversary of independence on September 15;
• Mexico commemorates its independence on September 16;
• Chile commemorates its independence on September 18; and
• the celebration Columbus Day or Día de la Raza [7].

Genetic diversity produces the greatest beauty.

Hispanic Heritage Week was first proclaimed by Pres. Johnson in 1968 in Presidential Proclamation 3869 [8].

Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan gave annual proclamations for Hispanic Heritage Week between 1969 and 1988.

National Hispanic Heritage Month was first proclaimed by Pres. George H. W. Bush on September 14, 1989 in Presidential Proclamation 6021 [9].

Since 1989, all American presidents have given a Presidential Proclamation to mark Hispanic Heritage Month [10]. More: National Hispanic Heritage Month (United States)