Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. During this time, we celebrate our Hornets of Hispanic heritage.
Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua.
Facts about Hispanic Heritage Month:
- Started as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson
- Heritage Week was expanded to a month by President Ronald Reagan
- Heritage Month was enacted into law on Aug. 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402
- The term Hispanic or Latino, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race
- There are 1.2 million Hispanics serving in the U.S. armed forces
- Hispanics are the largest ethnic or race minority in the United States
- The projected Hispanic population of the United States in 2060 is 119 million
- Dr. Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman astronaut to go into space
- Mario Molina won a Nobel Prize for his crucial work in understanding how the ozone layer is formed and depleted
- Octaviano Larrazolo was the first Hispanic woman U.S. Senator
- Joseph Marion Hernández was the first Hispanic Member of U.S. Congress in 1822
- In 1990, Oscar Hijuelos was the first Hispanic writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
- Romualdo Pacheco was the first Hispanic U.S. Representative, elected in 1876
- Carlos Juan Finlay solved the mystery of what caused yellow fever in 1881
Where Does the New York Region Fit Within the U.S. Hispanic Population? (as noted by Hispanicfederation.org)
New York State has the fourth largest Hispanic population in the United States. With its 3.6 million Hispanic residents, representing 6.6% of the total Hispanic population in the nation, the state ranks only behind California, Texas and Florida in total Hispanic population. Most LatinX New Yorkers live in New York City, where they number more than 2.4 million strong and account for one quarter of the city’s population. But New York City is an axis around which exist other Latino communities, some in New York State, and others in New Jersey and Connecticut, where the number of LatinXs is also significant.
From Supreme Court Justice-Sonia Sotomayer born in the Bronx to New York U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Colombia transplant and neuroscientist Dr. Rodolofo Llinas Riascos — for all the LatinX contributions of the past, present and future, we celebrate you!
