At this time of year, many people ask, “Andres, why is Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and not a specific month?”
The simple answer would be to highlight the anniversaries of national independence of several Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua recognize Sept. 15 as their dates of independence, while Mexico observes Sept. 16 and Chile, Sept. 18. More than a particular month in which it is celebrated, it is the importance of recognizing the presence and contributions of the Hispanic community in this country.
The label Hispanic/Latino is very particular of the United States of America. If somebody asks me about my cultural identification, I say that I am Colombian. Others would say that they are Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Salvadorians, etc. Generally, we identify with the country in which we were born or where our parents come from.
However, since we arrived in this country, we have identified ourselves as Hispanic/Latino given the cultural, linguistic and even religious ties that unite us. The 2020 U.S. Census estimates that there are more than 62 million Latinos in this country – each with a unique story of faith, as well as a personal journey, useful for the construction of this country.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, I feel personally called upon to remember two fundamental things:
First, to recognize and value the diversity of the Latino community in this country.
I remember when I was living in California a few years ago. I started attending a charismatic youth prayer group. Most of the attendees were from Mexico. When I listened to the songs in the group and tasted the food that they shared after each meeting, everything was unfamiliar to me, despite being in similar prayer groups in Colombia and later when I arrived in Florida. I thought to myself that this music does not inspire me to pray, and I missed my native food. After six years of living in California, I learned to eat like my Mexican friends, and those songs that initially seemed strange to me, now I sing them with all my heart to worship God. Later, when I moved to the Northeast, I found a great Caribbean community, with music and cuisine very different from Mexico. Everyone welcomed me with love and taught me the values of their culture.
These two experiences led me to recognize that despite the fact that the same language unites us, each one of us has different cultural and religious values that help to build a more inclusive country and Church, which respects the way in which each person relates with God as well as with each other.
Second, Hispanic Heritage Month provides me the opportunity to contribute, from where God has placed me, sharing Hispanic values that help to build the Church and society in this country. I could make several references from my service to the Church in this second point, but I want to relate it to the education of my daughters. I have been blessed to be the father of twin girls who were born in this country. They feel more comfortable with the English language but embrace their Spanish language at home. They like American fast food, but yearn for Latin dishes to be served at home. They feel that this is their country, but they count the days to go on vacation to South America. They receive religious education classes in English, but like to pray more in Spanish.
Last weekend we watched, as a family, the movie “Lemonade Mouth,” in which a teenage girl with Indian parents told her dad, “I’m trying to find myself, since I want to act like I’m from India but I can’t completely, then I want to be completely American, but I can’t do it either … I’m finding my place.” This led me to motivate my girls to be proud of being Americans while also being Latinas. I encourage them to find their place every day. To recognize the talents that God has given them and, together with the religious and cultural values that they receive at home, put them at the service of the Church and the community to build a more diverse and inclusive society, full of the love of God, which is unique and unrepeatable for every human being.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!
Andrés Arango is the Bishop’s delegate for Hispanic Ministry and director of evangelization for the Diocese of Camden.
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