Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15th and it runs till October 15th. This celebration is important with 1 out of 5 people in the United States are Hispanic. All while companies celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month through online posts, events, and employee resource groups the evidence is clear that concern for inclusion.
Such as Hollywood strives toward inclusion, it falls short on many counts. Hispanics are rarely cast in a lead role. In 2019, only 7% of major movies featured a lead Hispanic actor. For the last 13 years, only 5% of characters casted had a speaking or named roles. There is another needed representation in Hollywood.
The reason September 15th was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries. UCRP usually displays these countries flags the back of the sanctuary.
There’s Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. All declared independence in September 15, 1821.
In addition, the Independence Day of Chile is September 18th and Belize is September 21th.
Mexico’s Independence Day is NOT Cinco de Mayo – It is on September 16th. Technically, the Mexico holiday started late night at 11 pm with the “Cry of Dolores” – the call to arms. Thus, making it a 25-hour celebration.
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the long and important presence of Hispanic and Latin-X Americans in North America. They have been presence throughout the continent from a small outpost in San Francisco in 1776, through the Spanish province of Texas, to the a St. Augustine, Florida – the first and oldest settlement in North America founded in 1513. That’s 94 years before the English landed in Jamestown, Virginia.