The 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated 9-15 / 10-15Theme for this year is: "Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation." #USA
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated throughout the latter half of September and the first half of October began as a way to promote the history, culture, and contributions of LATINOS or Hispanic Americans.
Not LATINX... Hispanic is based on whether you or your family speak the language of Spanish whereas Latino is focusing more on geographic location, which is Latin America. Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking lineage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs2tdjzla8Y
Latino legends helped pave the way in Hollywood, but the road is still rocky https://www.npr.org/2022/09/15/1121331955/hispanic-actors-latino-repres…
This is specifically for those whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Communities mark the achievements of Hispanic and Latino Americans with festivals and educational activities. If you’re a student, to celebrate this day, check out all the scholarships available for Hispanic students.
According to SPJ, there are many ways for journalists and communicators to celebrate Nuestra America, our American heritage.
My experience in the USA began as a child when I got to watch reruns of Desi Arnaz, a Cuban celebrity who was known as Ricky Ricardo. He was married to a funny and beautiful redhead, who everyone adored and the TV Show was called I Love Lucy.
This American sitcom American originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, and her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian Vance and William Frawley.
#CityImages recognizes the contributions and influences of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of Nuestra America and Latinos in the United States.
- Do profiles of Latinos make a difference from CEOs to essential workers?
- Do profiles of Latino businesses that have created jobs and contributed to the community.
- Latino educators who are innovators are a great story.
- Nonprofits that work with the Latino community and impact their lives for the better.
- Search for Latinos who started grassroots programs that address issues in the community.
- Take a drive around the Latino communities in your city and explore. You may find good stories on Latinos who are painting beautiful murals, have unique stores they opened, etc. Sometimes the undiscovered is on the streets or inside small shops that are not on your radar.
- Let people lead you to people. Contact your Latino community leaders, priests, pastors, advocates, and activists and ask them, “Tell me of a Latino whose story needs to be told and why?” They may know someone who builds houses daily and goes to El Salvador in the winter to build houses down there for the poor.”
- Find those individuals creating programs to help the Latino community build in banking, education, housing, tech, fashion, investments, etc.
- Medical world: Call your local hospital to find out about Latino doctors or medical experts who are outstanding in their field. Maybe a local hospital or doctor is doing research that involves the Latino community.
- Projects done in schools with kids profiling various cultures. Speak to parents in the community.
- Is the local community board doing anything? Their monthly calendars give a glimpse of their meetings and topics.
- Do a “Hispanic Food Tour” and profile local Latino restaurants and their owners.
- Profile Latino employees in your newsroom. Share their backgrounds and where they grew up. TV folks can produce short videos.
- Work with local historians to highlight prominent/important Hispanic figures from your city.
- Check out your local librarians, who may be a good resource for stories.
- What do your local university archives have on hand that concentrates on Latino history? They may have photos, videos, documents, and letters that add visuals to any story.
- Create a quick listicle-style story highlighting some of the less-known historical figures in the Latinx community.
- Examine the Census and talk about how the population of Latinos has grown or declined and how that affects the community. https://www.census.
gov/newsroom/stories/hispanic- heritage-month.html - Visit local sports clubs, intramural teams, public fields, and stadiums and listen. There is a profile waiting to happen.
- Find a local home cook who can make a traditional dish from their country of origin and share their story of living in your community.
- Profiles local Latino musicians.
- Tell the stories of first-generation children of immigrant parents. We always talk about first-generation Latino children but never really talk about their stories.
- Do a story on the different traditional dresses from Latin America. What are they called, how are they made, and when are they worn?
- Hispanic/Latino veterans are poised to experience significant growth in homeownership rates over the next two decades, who/will help to narrow the gap. About 70% of new homeowners between 2020 & 2040 will be Hispanic—story idea from a real estate agent.
- Profile Latino educators, philanthropists, and STEM professionals
- Find Latinx/Hispanic-run nonprofits for well-being (mental+physical health).
- Search for civil rights advocates on the street and local civil rights leaders. Not always well known. Also, check with local historians/museums; you can find out what they know about these leaders.
- With midterms coming up – the changing faces of the Hispanic vote.
- Explore Latin American herbal medicine traditions — such as all the remedies used with yerba mate in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, etc. Maybe traditional doctors include natural ingredients.
- Make a simple list of key factoids about significant sources of migration like Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Colombia, etc. https://edsitement.neh.
gov/teachers-guides/hispanic- heritage-and-history-united- states. - Profiles on living/descendants of the Borinqueneers (65th Infantry Regiment). The National Museum is a good source. https://www.thenmusa.
org/articles/the-65th- infantry-regiment/ - Local Latino fashion designers make great profiles.
- Latinos are making a difference in environmental topics. For example, biologists doing research in this area or an entrepreneur using recycled material as part of their business model.
- For education reporters: What district/school in your coverage area has had the highest Latinx/Hispanic population growth in the last three years? Five years? Ten years? Do those families feel like their district/school meets their needs?
- Explore the National Archives for local and national stories. This source is a wealth of information on entertainment, arts & culture, sports, and more.
- The local Latino Labor force: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects and publishes statistics on employment, earnings, consumer spending, time use, and workplace injuries by race and ethnicity. This Spotlight on Statistics explores trends in those data for the Hispanic or Latino U.S. population.
- Local health disparities among Hispanics/Latinos. Localize information from the Center for Disease Control.
- National Park Services has programs highlighting Hispanic Heritage Month. What are they doing at your local national park? Discover stories and cultural heritage shared in national parks and communities. https://www.nps.
gov/subjects/npscelebrates/ hispanic-heritage-month.htm - US Department of Interior: Discover Hispanic heritage at these historic sites. Is there a historic site near you? https://www.doi.gov/
photos/discover-hispanic- heritage-these-historic-sites - US Department of Labor: The impact of the Latina workforce. https://blog.dol.
gov/2021/09/17/celebrating- the-rise-of-hispanic-women- workers - US Navy: The History of Hispanics in the US Navy. Explore ships named after Latinos. Biographies of Rear Admirals, Commanders, etc. Are one of these individuals from your city? https://blog.dol.gov/
2021/09/17/celebrating-the- rise-of-hispanic-women-workers - The importance of climate/weather communications in Spanish. Kay Nolan at the Washington Post did a story on how the lack of Spanish-language information during weather emergencies can endanger the public. What are emergency personnel, media broadcasters, and weather forecasters doing to keep the Spanish-speaking community informed in your area? WP story https://tinyurl.com/
ydt4fvtv - LATINO SITCOMS From Cuban celebrity Desi Arnaz who loved Lucy to Chico and the Man https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Y1dOAVuJQ and Qué Pasa USA? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ofGhOyOpg