Latino Heritage Month
A celebration of the history, culture, and contributon of citizens of Latin heritage
Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. The week-long celebration was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.
September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Also, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. In addition, Columbus Day, or Día de la Raza, is October 12, falling within the celebration month.
Pacific's Latino Heritage Month celebration started in 2005 by the director of Multicultural Affairs and a group of students. Since its inception, the annual, University-wide celebration has featured a number of prominent speakers, including Rigoberta Menchu, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Cesar Gaviria, the former president of Colombia, and Dolores Huerta, labor activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers.
2012 Latino Heritage Month
Pacific's Celebration includes guest speakers, special film screenings, Latin dance lessons,a Nation of
Islam Latino Conference, a Latino book display in the Library, and a ballet folklorico concert. This year's keynote speaker is Pacific alumnus Matt de la Pena, an award-winning author of books for young people and creative writing instructor at New York University.
Please join us in our celebration of Latino history and culture. Visit the Latino Heritage Month events calendar or contact the Multicultural Center at 209.946.7705.