National Hispanic Heritage Month, which spans from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, is a month dedicated to recognizing the contributions of Hispanic Americans to United States culture.
Arthur Hughes, the director of Latin American Studies at Ohio University, described the month as a way to raise awareness of the experiences and influences of Hispanic individuals on American communities.
“Hispanic Heritage Month is basically the idea of celebrating Hispanic heritage, of course, but then it's also to bring attention of this heritage to the rest of the population so they are aware of the diversity Hispanics bring to their communities.” Hughes said.
Analee Davis, a senior studying English, Spanish and European studies, is the vice president of the Latino Student Union at OU. Davis explained the month begins on Sept. 15 due to it being the anniversary of Latin American independence.
“It starts Sept.15 because that's when a lot of countries in Latin America have their Independence Day,” Davis said. “For example, I'm from Guatemala, ours is the 15th, as is a lot of Central America. Mexico's is the 16th, and it just goes down the line. Not all of the countries have their Independence Days between the month, but that's why it starts that day.”
Throughout the month-long celebration, OU has held numerous events to recognize Hispanic influence through educational and social events. For the first half of the month, various student organizations on campus hosted events that spanned a variety of topics including an Afro-Latino Appreciation Event, a Capoeira Workshop and a Cafe y Chisme event where attendees can discuss upcoming events within the Latinx community.
The remainder of the month will consist of several more events, each aiming to unite and educate students about Hispanic heritage.
Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, the director of the Multicultural Center, said these events are impactful for students to attend partly because they are orchestrated by other students who are directly connected to Hispanic culture.
“Most of (the events) are planned, organized and coordinated by student groups,” Chunnu-Brayda said. “So I would love for people to check out the movie night, the tabling, as well as In the Heights… at the Living and Learning Center on South Green ... on Oct. 5.”
Whether students attend university-sponsored events or celebrate through personal means, Chunnu-Brayda said it is important that students are offered the opportunity to learn about other cultures of which they may not have much knowledge.
“For me, as a person of color, who also organizes celebrations for other heritage months, it's important because we live in a diverse society,” Chunnu-Brayda said. “And on a university campus, we also have to keep in mind that not all our students get exposed to some of these groups, depending on where they're coming from, in terms of their high school and middle school. I am happy that as a university, if students didn't get exposed to this kind of education where they are coming from, they can get it at OU. Our goal … is to educate our international students about the various domestic groups as well as to educate our domestic students about multicultural groups within the society. It's crucial in our broader strategic goal of preparing our students to be global Bobcats.”
Hughes articulated that the significance of students learning about other cultures is often to recognize the similarities between them, rather than the differences.
“Hispanic Heritage Month tries to get this awareness that we are not different people, we are all people,” Hughes said. “We just have cultures, histories and backgrounds, but the problems we all face are pretty much the same.”
Davis emphasized the importance of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, as it challenges the negative perpetuations of their culture and ultimately empowers Hispanic individuals to embrace their identity.
“I feel like a lot of people lose their identity when they come to the States or have found that it is not celebrated enough,” Davis said. “There is that negative connotation to being Hispanic in the United States … with things you see in the news and people just being afraid to speak Spanish or Portuguese – whatever their native language might be. I think that it is important to encourage people to be able to speak their language and celebrate their culture and not be ashamed of who they are, regardless of whether they're first generation, like Mexican-American, or whether they were born in Latin America and moved to the States. I think it's important to remember where we all come from, and we can all share the same struggles and experiences as well.”
