Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

9/19/2024 11:42 am

This month we want to celebrate our Hispanic and Latino students, families, teachers, and staff!

We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 -- October 15 every year as a time to provide extra recognition and learn more about the impact of the many contributions Hispanic and Latino communities have made to the history and culture of the United States.

Did you know that the Latino population makes up 18.9% of the total population in the United States and is the largest racial or ethnic group? At Manor Woods, 5.2% of our school population is Latino.

Let's take a look at some of the key figures and cultural influences in Latino history and the impact they have had on the United States:

Activists

Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta were instrumental leaders in the fight against the unfair treatment of farm workers in the United States, founding the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later merged other unions to become the United Farm Workers of America.
Sylvia Rivera was a key figure in the fight for gay and transgender communities, criticizing racism and economic exclusion within the LGBT community.

Pioneers

Dr. Ellen Ochoa was the first Latina to go to space when she flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. In addition to her 30 year career with NASA, Dr. Ochoa also served as Johnson Space Center’s first Hispanic Director.
Sonia Sotomayor was the first Latina and third woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Arts and Entertainment

Judith “Judy” Baca uses art as a tool to empower communities through her murals, monuments, paintings, sculptures, and more. She shares the stories of people who have contributed to U.S. history, but are often excluded from its retelling.
Willie Colón is a skilled trombone player and a pioneer of the American Salsa music style, drawing from different cultures and styles to create his signature sound.
Celia Cruz was the Queen of Salsa and instrumental in growing the popularity of salsa music and shining a spotlight on Latino music in the United States. She received many honors, including the President’s National Medal of Arts and was posthumously given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Grammys.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an award winning composer, playwright, and actor, best known for being the creator and original star of Broadway’s Tony-winning musicals Hamilton and In the Heights. He continues his efforts to increase the representation of people of color, recently being involved in Disney’s Moana and Encanto.

Baseball:

About 30% of MLB players are Hispanic / Latino.
In addition to his commitment to humanitarian work, Roberto Clemente is one of the most famous Latinos to ever play the game and was the first Latino American Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
A little closer to home, the Baltimore Orioles have many players who are Hispanic / Latino: Félix Bautista, Eloy Jiménez, and Jorge Mateo come from the Dominican Republic; Yennier Canó and Cionel Perez are from Cuba; Anthony Santander is from Venezuela; Ramón Urías is from Mexico.
Linda Alvarado purchased the Colorado Rockies in 1990 becoming not only the first woman to ever win a bid to buy a team, but also the first Hispanic MLB team owner.

Movies to watch with your family during Hispanic Heritage Month

Coco | Disney+
Encanto | Disney+
Vivo | Netflix
Pachamama | Netflix
McFarland USA | Disney+
Underwater Dreams | Apple TV or Amazon Prime

Books to read with your family during Hispanic Heritage Month

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx by Jonah Winter
Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
How Tia Lola Came to Stay by Julia Alvarez
Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes
Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight by Duncan Tonatiuh

Additional resources to learn more!