September 15th – October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. Are you wondering why it starts halfway through the month? Well, it began in 1968 with Lyndon Johnson stating,
“The people of Hispanic descent are the heirs of missionaries, captains, soldiers, and farmers who were motivated by a young spirit of adventure, and a desire to settle freely in a free land.”
“This heritage is ours,” he proclaimed. And a week was set aside to celebrate the contributions of the “Hispanic” people.
In 1988, Ronald Reagan changed it to a month and chose the dates to align with the independence days of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Similarly, Mexico celebrates independence on the 16th, Chile on the 18th, and Belize on the 21st.
We must mention the controversy behind the umbrella term Hispanic and recognize we are using it because it is the official title of the month – as of this date. For a great article on the issue, NPR covers it pretty well in their article “Yes, We’re Calling It Hispanic Heritage Month And We Know It Makes Some Of You Cringe.”
The short version is the US Government Census created broad terms to categorize people. It didn’t take into account the actual homeland of the person. Literally, Hispanic means your lineage is from Spain which of course is untrue for most of the cultures grouped under the term. Latino/Latina and the new Latinx are all being considered and used.
DiscoverBooks.com desires to highlight all who contribute to literacy. They take this opportunity to highlight a few from the countries honored under this blanket term and hope all feel celebrated. The list is so long of great authors with this rich heritage, we can only list a few:
- Geraldo Cadava
- Danny Trejo
- Meg Medina
- Alex Aster
- Pablo Cartaya
- Isabel Allende
- Quiara Alegría Hudes
- Maria Hinojosa
- Aiden Thomas
- Erika L. Sanchez
- Jenny Torres Sanchez
- Rudy Ruiz
- Legna Rodriguez Iglesias
- Gabriela Garcia
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Paola Mendoza
- Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- Pam Muoz Ryan
- Julia Alvarez
- Ilan Stavans
Don’t forget to save 15% on 3+ used books at DiscoverBooks.com with code WRITING21. The app is mobile so you can carry your favorite bookshop with you. Download the app today (available on Apple and Google). It allows you to scan bar codes to compare prices quickly. You can find gently used books at the lowest prices. They also cover shipping for the lower 48 states. Find inspiration for all your dreams at DiscoverBooks.com and Let The Stories Live On.
