National Hispanic Heritage Month 🌎

In this topic, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with some trivia questions, like when National Heritage Month was first celebrated, why it’s celebrated from September 15th to October 15th, what the terms Hispanic and Latinx mean, and more.

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1. Every year, National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed and celebrated from September 15th to October 15th.

2. National Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the cultures, histories, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

3. In 1968, National Hispanic Heritage Month was initially observed as ‘Hispanic Heritage Week’ under President Lyndon Johnson. It was extended to 30 days in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan.

4. National Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15th for an important reason. September 15th is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

5. National Hispanic Heritage Month also coincides with the independence days of Mexico (September 16) and Chile (September 18), as well as Día de la Raza or Columbus Day (October 12).

6. Hispanic generally refers to people who speak Spanish and/or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations.

7. Latinx generally refers to people from Central or South America, the Caribbean, and/or with ancestry in those places.

8. In the U.S. in 2020, the Hispanic and Latinx population, which includes people of any race, was 62.1 million people.

9. The Hispanic and Latinx population in the U.S. are racially diverse, despite often being represented as one similar group. Hispanic and Latinx people can be Black, Indigenous American, Mestizo, Mixed, White, and even of Asian descent.

10. Everyone can celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, attend festivities, eat Hispanic and Latinx food, and learn about Hispanic and Latino artists.

11. The term Latinx is the gender-neutral version of Latino and Latina. It can be pronounced "luh-TEE-neks," or "Latin-ex". It’s meant to be gender inclusive so that all gender identities are represented.

12. An estimated 13.5% of the US population speak Spanish at home.

13. Ellen Ochoa, PhD, was the first Hispanic woman to go to space. She was a part of a nine-day mission on the Discovery shuttle in 1993. She completed another 3 missions and went on to be the Johnson Space Center’s first Hispanic director.

14. Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice of the United States in 2009.

15. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the Broadway musical Hamilton. He is a Puerto Rican-American composer, lyricist, actor, writer, and activist.

16. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman to ever be elected to Congress. She was sworn in at age 29. Originally from the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent. She represents New York’s 14th congressional district.

17. Chef José Andrés a Spanish immigrant and American citizen. He established World Central Kitchen, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters and prolonged humanitarian crises.