Heritage Month Celebrations

September 15 - October 15

Schedule of Events (PDF file, requires Acrobat)

SDSU Center for Latin American Studies E-Bulletin

Interesting Events in Hispanic History:

1910: Mexican immigration to California increases in response to the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Due to the war, an economic crisis has struck, and Mexicans come to California in search of better opportunities.

1959–1962: Fleeing Castro's revolution , 155,000 Cubans leave their homeland. A large number of these Cuban "exiles" settle in an area of Miami known as "Little Havana" because of its overwhelmingly Cuban population. Today, more than 60 percent of Miami's population is Latino, and more than 700,000 Cubans live in the Miami area.

1962: Cesar Chavez founds the National Farm Workers Association to obtain better wages and working conditions for grape pickers and other farm workers. In 1965, the NFWA organizes a boycott of California grape growers. By 1970, most grape growers sign contracts with the unions. Chavez continues to organize California farm workers through the 1970s.

1969: In a protest aimed at raising awareness of the needs of the Puerto Rican community, the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican student activist group, shut down the City College of New York, East Harlem People's Church, and Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. Their activities help establish Puerto Rican studies departments in universities and lead to the creation of other Puerto Rican activist groups.

For more information, visit the Scholastic.com Web site.

Contributions of people of Hispanic heritage

The intent of this month is to focus attention on the contributions of people of Hispanic heritage to the history of the United States. Hispanic people are a growing part of our country's population. Today, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 26 million people in the United States are of Hispanic origin. That's about 10 percent of Americans!

While Hispanic Americans are very much a part of our current culture there seems to be some confusion as to who is included in the ethnic classification “Hispanic.” There are two ways in which individuals count themselves as Hispanic. Many Hispanic Americans trace their roots to the cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas including the Arawaks (Puerto Rico), the Aztecs (Mexico), the Incas (South America), the Maya (Central America), and the Tainos (Cuba). Others trace their roots to the Spanish explorers, who in the 1400s set out to find an easier and less costly way to trade with the Indies. For purposes of the U.S. Census, Hispanic Americans today are identified according to the parts of the world that they or their ancestors came from, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spain, or the nations of Central or South America.

Not only are Hispanic Americans a prominent percentage of America's population, they also play prominent roles in both present and past American history. In an effort to highlight Hispanic contributions in past and current American culture, I would like to present a short “Who's Who” trivia quiz of Hispanic Americans.

Trivia Quiz

Can you match the name with their description?

Discovered the Mississippi River World-famous musician, he played the cello Led fight for a better life for migrant farm workers Band leader and actor, was on TV in I Love Lucy Spanish soldiers, invaded and took lands from Native Americans Singer from Miami Opera singer Baseball player with the Oakland A's Talk show host Folk singer

Conquistadors Hernando de Soto Gloria Estefan César Chávez José Carreras Desi Arnaz Geraldo Rivera Joan Baez