Hispanic Heritage Month is a way to celebrate us, our backgrounds, and our contributions. Our culture is the fabric that makes us who we are: strong, hardworking, intelligent people with a strong sense of community. No matter where we come from, or what we have gone through, our Hispanic heritage stays with us and colors how we see the world and connect with people. It means taking pride in where you are from and embracing the unique traditions and flavors of our culture. It is who I am, and I could not be more proud to be Latina!
Now, picture this: It’s the early 2000s, and I’m strolling through McLennan Community College. Back then, the campus was like a Polaroid—nostalgic, a tad grainy, and definitely lacking Wi-Fi. But hey, we survived Y2K, so we were basically tech wizards! Fast-forward to today, and MCC has undergone a transformation worthy of a telenovela plot twist. (You know what I am talking about). The campus has a new shine to it. The kind of shine only seen on a new pair of Stacy Adams. The growth is evidence MCC lives by its core values. The true beauty on campus is the “gente”. We are the heart and soul of MCC. When I first stepped onto campus, there were only a handful of us Hispanic folks. We were like rare Pokémon—hard to find but worth the hunt. The student population? A modest 13% Hispanic. Fast-forward again (because time flies when you’re conjugating irregular verbs), and that number has ballooned to a spicy 36%. So here I am, raising my Dr Pepper high, proud to have joined the MCC familia. We’re more than just students, staff, and faculty—we’re a vibrant mosaic of backgrounds, stories, and dreams. And when we say “familia,” we mean it. We celebrate each other’s successes, share our tortillas at potlucks, and occasionally argue about who makes the best tamales (hint: mi abuela Jesusa Del Bosque). As the saying goes, “I didn’t ask to be Hispanic, I just got lucky”!
Hispanic Heritage Month is a time of year where we observe the unique contributions that Hispanics have made. Furthermore, we recognize and celebrate the sacrifices and successes that our ancestors have made and the current struggles we as a people are facing and conquering. The way I honor and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month is by attending and participating in events, learning more about Hispanic culture and educating students more about Hispanic heritage. I am blessed to be a part of two cultures, two communities at once. I am proud to be bilingual and my Spanish-speaking clients are always excited to hear I speak Spanish. The thing I love the most about being Hispanic is that the culture is very diverse, full of flavor, a mix of languages, variety of foods and entertainment.
As a Chicano, Hispanic heritage means being connected to a line of people who created who I am. Hispanic Heritage means it is my responsibility to honor them and ensure our culture and traditions live on for those who come after me. I celebrate being Chicano by educating others and remaining true to who I am. My favorite part of being Hispanic and Chicano are the stories of others. Learning how people have created spaces and fundamentally changed the world through individual and collective accomplishments, innovation, and persistence.
As a proud Mexican American, my Hispanic heritage is rooted in every aspect of my life. My parents uprooted their lives in Mexico to allow me an opportunity for a better life in the United States. They taught me to appreciate, embrace and understand the importance of family, culture, values, sacrifice, love, and strength. Hispanic Heritage month allows me to highlight the beauty of my culture with my children.
I am a proud Mexican American and my family is from Monterrey, Mexico. My favorite part of being Hispanic is the language. Knowing how to speak Spanish is a blessing to be able to communicate with others and to help others who have also migrated to the United States. Seeing my people feel relieved when someone else speaks their language in a time of need is so rewarding and makes me even more proud to be Hispanic!
Hispanic Heritage is a celebration of who I am. It is the celebration of my beautiful Spanish language, my colorful and vibrant culture, delicious food, familia, customs, and values inherited from my parents and I take much pride in passing them on to my children so that they never forget who they are and where they came from. It also means being appreciative of the sacrifice my parents made to uproot their whole lives and move our whole family to the USA in search of better opportunities and life for my brothers and me. For me and my family, this is an everyday celebration, not just a month. We honor our heritage by speaking our Spanish language everyday at home and as much as we can everywhere else. We love cooking and eating traditional Mexican food, from recipes that were passed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother, then to my mom and now it is my turn to pass them down to my daughters. We also love to support local Hispanic restaurants in the area, and trying new dishes there. Our family loves Hispanic music, dancing, and attending festivals and concerts, and lastly, enjoying a good game of Fútbol! At the school where I work, I like to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by making a colorful bulletin board that highlights the life of influential Hispanic icons, so that their lives and stories live on through our younger generations.
We celebrate our Hispanic heritage by reflecting where our father’s family originated from, a small dairy farm and then from the town of Brownsville, Texas. The lessons taught by his family included “Always work hard and do your best. Your future is bright if you have a goal in mind.” We honor our Hispanic heritage by keeping family pictures up in our house which allow us to see family traditions and celebrations that are cherished memories of our great-grandparents.
I personally celebrate or honor my Hispanic heritage every year by participating in Mexican traditions that have been passed down to me. Since the passing of my grandfather, my family will now officially participate in the famous Dia de Los Muertos. I will make space in my home to create an ofrenda for him. He is truly my father in the sense that he was consistently there for me. I will print out a good picture of him and frame it. I buy some of his favorite pan dulce, candy, a rosary, and light a little candle for him when I spend time with him. It will be my time to talk to him and share my life with him. Since his battle with dementia, I haven’t had the opportunity to share my accomplishments and formally introduce my husband to him. This is a special time for me to not only celebrate his life but to interact with him. Every year on New Years Eve, I go to the stores and buy some grapes and white flowers. Once I am home, I take out my gold candle, my white tealight candles, my sheep figurine, new quarters, and a decent size bowl. I also make sure my husband and I have yellow underwear to wear into the new year! It sounds strange but there is a Mexican superstition that wearing yellow underwear will bring you money in the new year! I place the tealights with white flowers in a bowl of water and let them burn into the new year. It is to help bring peace into the new year. I light the gold candle and place my sheep next to it; this helps bring abundance in money. I tape three quarters in a shape of a triangle on the front door to help bring in money as well. We eat 12 grapes at midnight to bring us luck. Finally, we open the back door to let out the old and open the front door to let in the new! My husband has grown fond of this tradition over the years and it is a staple in our home. Since being together, I have noticed that my husband isn’t familiar with Mexican traditions that I have been taught. Teaching him about the beauty of our culture brings me much joy as I hope to pass these traditions down to our kids.
