Building community by sharing heritage.
¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana!
Instead of starting at the beginning of the month, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th to October 15th to coincide with the independence days of Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Belize.
It’s a national celebration of the myriad of cultures and contributions made by those from Central and Latin American and other Spanish-speaking countries. The Spanish-speaking community includes a multitude of cultures and communities, so of course, there are multiple terms people identify with. Here are the more widely used ones and the differences between them:
Hispanic
used to refer to people from the pan-ethnic communities of Spanish-speaking countries and those who are from or descend from Latin America.
Latino/a
a term for people who live in or descend from Latin America and speak Spanish primarily. Latino is used for men, Latina for women. It’s important to note that Hispanic and Latino are not interchangeable. People who come from Spain are not considered Latino because they are European and not from Latin America.
Latinx
a gender-neutral alternative to Latino that can be used for both men, women, or non-binary individuals. Some in the Latino community reject the use of ‘x’ because Europeans forced the letter into the native languages during their conquests of South America.
Latine
another gender-neutral alternative to Latino created by LGBTQ+ Spanish speakers that uses the Spanish pronunciation of ‘e’.
Like many cultural and ethnic groups, the Hispanic and Latino community isn’t a monolith, so they won’t all identify with the same term. When in doubt, just ask people which term they prefer to identify with.
Don’t let the festivities stop here – celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in your city with your communities. If you’re in Kansas City, we recommend Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center’s Hispanic Heritage Festival on October 4. Check out the Latin American art galleries at the Denver Art Museum in Denver. The collection has more than 1,000 rare works that present the expansive history of artistic creation in Latin America. And in Pittsburgh, check out the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Festival.
Find a comprehensive list of events in each city below:
¡Salud!
