Celebrating Latino Heritage Month

Office of Latino Affairs Newsletter

Latino Heritage Month

About Latino Heritage Month

During September 15 and October 15 Iowa and the United States recognize and celebrate the rich heritage, cultures and the contributions made by Latinos during Latino Heritage Month.

This celebration started in September, 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson was authorized by Congress to proclaim national Hispanic Heritage Week, and directed that this week included September 15 and 16 to celebrate the anniversaries of independence for the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. National Hispanic Heritage Month was established in 1988.

Terms: Latino, Latinx and Hispanic

Latinos: are classified as individuals living in the U.S. whose ancestors originate from the Caribbean Islands, Central America, Mexico, and South America, all countries that were colonized by Spaniards and Portuguese. Latinos speak Romance languages: French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Latinos are the largest ethnic minority population in Iowa and in the U.S.

Latinx and Latine are gender-neutral term that is used by some as an alternative to Latino/Latina/Latin@.

The term Hispanic refers to people whose heritage is derived from Spanish speaking countries - the term is about language and doesn’t include people from Brazil who speak Portuguese, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin who speak French.