On the eve of Hispanic Heritage Month I can’t help but have a mixture of emotions. It’s a reminder of many cultural achievements, but achievements in a place where it’s always an uphill battle of rejection, racism and rancor.  

Initially presented as a week, Hispanic Heritage has become a month. When signing the “celebration” into law in 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated:

“The people of Hispanic descent are the heirs of missionaries, captains, soldiers, and farmers who were motivated by a young spirit of adventure, and a desire to settle freely in a free land.”

Excuse me sir.

Latinos didn’t jump the border. The border jumped them.

My people didn’t “settle” in this land, they were already here.  Beyond the dispute over what to name the month-long celebration (many Latinos feeling conflict with the term Hispanic), there is another concern when celebrating: that it’s all for show. Part of celebrating the culture isn’t just the food and the music, but also bringing light to stories of oppression, prejudice and injustice.

Latinos, or “Hispanics” as categorized by the US Census Bureau, are the minority with the highest percentage in the United States sitting at almost 20% (62.2 million) and one of the fastest growing. There are only two Central and South American countries that have a higher population of Latinos than we do in the United States, Mexico and Brazil.

Yet, we are often one of the most overlooked and underrepresented. As if we don’t exist.

I don’t see many actors that look like me in mainstream media, especially not represented in any other fashion than besides the typical stereotype. We don’t have our own Disney princesses or Marvel superheroes. I don’t see many professors or scientists leading the Nobel Peace Prize winners. Fewer still are our representatives in government. 

Often when asked, many Latinos feel as if Hispanic Heritage month is a way for greedy corporations to continue profiteering off of our food, music, and culture. Why is it that these trends are “trendy” but never enough for everyone to see there is a beautiful, massive market that is just waiting to explode?

Instead, there is cultural looting when staples of the culture are whitewashed or changed for commercial viability.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have WORLD WIDE leading artists push to empower the people. Bad Bunny stated most recently when winning Artist of the Year:

“I always knew that I could become a huge artist without changing my culture, my slang and my language. I am Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, from Puerto Rico to the world.”

An icon, empowering millions around the world to be proud of their culture, their language. And not change that for anyone. 

It’s the LEAST I can do in my classroom. All year long. Because being brown is:

más de un mes.

Notable Opinions:

“I def love the idea of having a month dedicated to celebrating us as a people. I think there def needs to be a lot more content across the board – magazines, TV, newspapers, internet content should all be about celebrating us as a culture – not for the sake of making money but for the sake of educating the masses on how beautiful we are.” -Curly Velasquez, editor at BuzzFeed

“I haven’t spent much time thinking about Hispanic Heritage Month as I am right now, so I guess it’s safe to say that it’s not very meaningful to me. Unlike Black History Month, which actually feels like a time to inform one another on critical Black figures and movements and discuss the status of Black individuals today, Hispanic Heritage Month just feels like a marketing campaign. It’s a time when big brands add Spanish in their commercials or a stereotypical Latinx-looking family at the dinner table in their ads to tap into our buying power. And, honestly, I guess that makes sense. After all, when I hear the word “Hispanic,” after quivering in disgust, I think of the Hispanic market. It’s a generic identity that was crafted by corporate America to make billions.” -Raquel Reichard, journalist

“Has the existence of a Hispanic Heritage Month had any impact whatsoever on the wellbeing or health outcomes of Latinx communities? History and the current state of the world tells me no. It is Hispanic heritage month, and Central American children are being held prisoner by the state, enduring sexual violence and acts of psychological torture in Immigration Detention Centers. The treatment of undocumented peoples, the history of forced sterilization of Latinas in LA hospitals, the deportation of residents, naturalized citizens, DACA recipients, and Latinx parents with US born children all point to the hard truth that Hispanic Heritage Month is not even a band-aid, it’s a slap in the face.” -Mala Muñoz, co-creator & co-producer of Locatora Radio

“This is a time when mainstream media attempts to pay more attention.” –Paola Ramos, Latinx advocate
“Marketing to Latinxs is not one dimensional, we are complex and come from a large variety of different cultural backgrounds. Brands need to really research our diversity before commodifying our culture to be sold, especially when they only think of doing this on HHM. The whole month sounds like a great idea in theory but has now turned to a watered down version that excludes our complex history and sells cultural stereotypes to the masses. I am not here to see the red, orange, and yellow hues with a slapped on slogan with the ‘taco font.’ (Google it.)” -Itzel Alejandra Martinez, photo editor at Remezcla