By Arturo Cuellar Gonzalez a research consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City
The National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration began in the United States in 1968, when the President Lyndon B. Johnson created Hispanic Heritage Week. Later, in 1988 this celebration was enlarged by President Ronald Reagan to cover a 30 day period from September 15 and ending in October 15. The celebration was established to honor the Hispanic Heritage and Culture in the United States and enacted into law on August 17, 1988.
For the Hispanic Community, this period of time is very special because . . .
the following countries celebrate their independence:
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, in September 15 (1821), México in September 16 (1810), and Chile in September 18, (1810). Also, in many countries in Latin America and Spain, October 12 is celebrated as “Día de la Raza” (Columbus Day), a National Day that commemorates Christopher Columbus’s initial landing in North America on October 12, 1492.
The Hispanic Community in the United States has had a profound and positive influence through their strong commitment to their families, faith, hard work, and community service.
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, in September 15 (1821), México in September 16 (1810), and Chile in September 18, (1810). Also, in many countries in Latin America and Spain, October 12 is celebrated as “Día de la Raza” (Columbus Day), a National Day that commemorates Christopher Columbus’s initial landing in North America on October 12, 1492.
The Hispanic Community in the United States has had a profound and positive influence through their strong commitment to their families, faith, hard work, and community service.
Arturo Cuellar Gonzalez Very often people ask me how we, as Hispanics can be proud of our Hispanic Heritage without knowing our roots? This has led me to remember that one of the first steps to achieve this is to know where we came from. Whether you are from Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico or any other country in Latin America, we all share our Hispanic history and this is what reminds us the greatness of our past, and enables us to live in the present with optimism and to face the future with confidence in ourselves.
The first step is to learn more about ourselves, our families, traditions, values and customs. The way that we do certain things such as: dances, songs, favorite foods, the music we like to hear. It’s also important to listen to and seek out the memories and stories of our families in other countries. Many Hispanic/Latino celebrities like Tony Romo, Guy Gabaldon,Jaime Escalante, and Eva Longoria among others, proudly celebrate and share their Hispanic Heritage. At the Family History Library, we have assisted many families to find their ancestors so they could learn more about their ancestors’ histories and celebrate their Hispanic heritage. Your family’s history is important and deserves to be told. I invite you to take the time to get to know the stories of your family.
The importance of this celebration made me remember when I arrived in this country more than twenty years ago, and the reasons I came to the United States. It was to seek opportunities for progress, freedom, and overcoming obstacles. These reasons which are shared by my immediate family (wife and children), but sometimes not understood by some of my extended family (brothers, uncles, cousins), have helped us keep our motivation alive with a strong desire to acculturate in our new home in the shortest time possible without losing our traditions, values, and Hispanic customs. One of the things that allowed us to do this was the support of friends and neighbors. Since the first day that we arrived in this country, they were so friendly and gave us a lot of information about the customs, school system, holidays, food, etc.
The first step is to learn more about ourselves, our families, traditions, values and customs. The way that we do certain things such as: dances, songs, favorite foods, the music we like to hear. It’s also important to listen to and seek out the memories and stories of our families in other countries. Many Hispanic/Latino celebrities like Tony Romo, Guy Gabaldon,Jaime Escalante, and Eva Longoria among others, proudly celebrate and share their Hispanic Heritage. At the Family History Library, we have assisted many families to find their ancestors so they could learn more about their ancestors’ histories and celebrate their Hispanic heritage. Your family’s history is important and deserves to be told. I invite you to take the time to get to know the stories of your family.
The importance of this celebration made me remember when I arrived in this country more than twenty years ago, and the reasons I came to the United States. It was to seek opportunities for progress, freedom, and overcoming obstacles. These reasons which are shared by my immediate family (wife and children), but sometimes not understood by some of my extended family (brothers, uncles, cousins), have helped us keep our motivation alive with a strong desire to acculturate in our new home in the shortest time possible without losing our traditions, values, and Hispanic customs. One of the things that allowed us to do this was the support of friends and neighbors. Since the first day that we arrived in this country, they were so friendly and gave us a lot of information about the customs, school system, holidays, food, etc.
Most of our first friends here were from other countries with different customs, who shared with us their experience in the process of acculturation. It has not been an easy way to achieve this. It was necessary to find balance between the two cultures. This requires an interest in learning about the culture in which we live and identify the positive things, and secondly keeping and remembering the traditions, values and customs of our Hispanic culture. Because of our Mexican-American nature, we can’t eat our meals without “chile” (hot peppers) and tortillas, but we learned to enjoy hamburgers and hot dogs too.
This article was submitted by Arturo Cuellar Gonzalez, a research consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
This article was submitted by Arturo Cuellar Gonzalez, a research consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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