National Hispanic Heritage Month

As someone who was born in Chile, in the southernmost part of South America, National Hispanic Heritage Month was something that I just heard in the news of the United States now and then. I like to highlight that I do not tend to use the word “American,” because in straight terms I am an American too. I was born in the southern hemisphere of the continent called America. Also, it might sound particular for some people, but we do not tend to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage Month in most Hispanic countries. Why? Because we do celebrate our own national days/months depending on each country, and they tend to be big celebrations that last for days if not weeks.  

Now, what does National Hispanic Heritage Month mean to me? I like to think that this month is a time of the year in which people celebrate their connections with their Hispanic and Latino/a friends and families. We share and enjoy the cultures from different places and countries. We get to know more about their costumes, traditions, dances, music, amazing food, etc. In sum, it is a month of the year in which we enjoy life Hispanic-Latino style or “a la Latina” or “a la Hispana.”

 

In terms of my heritage, I tend to say that I am a full-time Chilean. I feel proud of everything that makes me Chilean. I have my own way of speaking, my own accent, my own costumes, my favorite Chilean food, I use different Chilean slangs, etc. They are and they will always be core elements of my own persona. But also, I share so many things with my friends from Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. While we might act and speak differently, we share our friendliness, our passion for having fun up until very late in the morning, our love for empanadas, and even our deep knowledge for the very famous Colombian soup opera “Betty la Fea” (Ugly Betty). I like to think that our heritage is that little “cultural glue” that brings together people from different places of the world.

 

Finally, in terms of some contributions of Hispanics and/or Latinos/as to the world, I would say that apart from our very rich cuisine, beautiful language, and jaw-dropping landscapes, it is very important to highlight our friendliness, and most importantly our typically positive attitude towards life. Many modern issues would be better dealt with if people in the more developed countries would adopt a “Latino” view of life, best summarized this way: “Nosotros queremos disfrutar de la vida” – which translates, “We want to enjoy life.”