Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15-October 15

Latino Pride, Shariff Dahlan and Francisco Carrasco (1997), San Francisco. Photograph taken by Franco Follini.


On September 17, 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, observed during the week including September 15th and 16th. In 1974 the observance was extended by President Gerald R. Ford’s proclamation for it to begin September 10th through the 16th. Again on August 17, 1988 Congress passed another law which authorized President Ronald Reagan to expand the observance to a month-long celebration.

September 15th was chosen as an opening date for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and 18th, respectively. This month is an opportunity to honor and celebrate the contributions, cultures, and traditions of the many U.S. residents who locate their heritage from Spanish-speaking nations.

The Armacost Library has some great fiction and nonfiction titles of interest to those who wish to explore what it means to be Latina/o or of Hispanic descent.

Fiction

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent. New York: Plume, 1992.

Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007.

Bencastro, Mario. Odyssey to the North. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1998.

Ferré, Rosario. La casa de la laguna. New York: Vintage Books, 1997.

Moraga, Cherrie. Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca Paso Por Sus Labios. Cambridge, Mass: South End Press, 2000.

Nonfiction

Berg, Charles Ramírez. Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, Resistance. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.

Montero-Sieburth, Martha and Edwin Melendez. Latinos in a Changing Society. Westport, Conn.: Praiger, 2007.

Negrón-Muntaner, Frances. Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture. New York: New York University Press, 2004.

Noriega, Chon A. and Ana M. López. The Ethnic Eye: Latino Media Arts. Minneapolis, Minn.: Univeristy of Minnesota Press, 1996.

Tatum, Charles. Chicano Popular Culture: Que Hable el Pueblo. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001.

DVD and Video

My American Girls: A Dominican Story (2001)
The Bronze Screen (2002)
El Gigante Awakens (2007)
Selena (1997)

Take a look in the Armacost Library catalog for these titles and many more.