Why September 15-October 15? In 1968 Hispanic Heritage Week was established. September 15th was chosen as the start date because it is the anniversary of the independence of five Hispanic countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Later in 1988, it was expanded into a month but kept the start date.
Why we prefer LatinX: Hispanic refers to someone whose heritage is from Spain and is generally used to identify Spanish-speaking countries. LatinX/Latine is a gender-neutral term that refers to all people with Latin American heritage and includes non-Spanish speakers.
This month we recognize the contributions of Latinx Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. We celebrate not only the contributions from the past but those that continue and we celebrate them every day of the year as US Heritage and History.
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