Hispanic Heritage Month dates back to 1968 as weeklong celebration before it was extended

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Hispanic Heritage Month is underway, and as you get ready to partake in all the cultural festivities and food, here are a few things you may not know about the 30-day celebration.

President Lyndon B. Johnson started the tradition in 1968. At the time, the Spanish population was growing, and so he declared “Hispanic Heritage Week” during the month of September.

Dr. Guillermo De Los Reyes, an associate professor of Latin American studies at the University of Houston, explained how this was only the beginning of what would become a monthlong celebration.

“Twenty years later, in 1988, President Ronald Reagan said, ‘Let’s do the Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15.’ And the reason why September 15 is to coincide with the celebration of Latin American independence,” he said.

Dr. De Los Reyes added that many Central American countries, like Nicaragua and El Salvador, celebrate their independence on the same day as Mexico (Sept. 16), if not around the same date. That’s why Hispanic heritage is celebrated during these designated days.

It’s a time, he says, that keeps their department of Hispanic studies very busy since it’s also a great opportunity to learn more about the history of Hispanic heritage and local trailblazers we don’t often know or hear about.

“And as I was telling you before, Lorenzo De Zavala of Mexican descent, who was vice president of the Republic of Texas, and we have an elementary school here in Houston, and I ask the students, ‘Do you know who Lorenzo De Zavala was?’ And they don’t know. So, it is an opportunity to teach the students the history of this state and this country,” he said.

Dr. De Los Reyes also said to remind everyone that this time period is not to be confused with “Cinco de Mayo,” either, which is a day that has become more of a “social celebration” here in the U.S.

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