Hispanic Heritage Month has been underway for a few weeks now, and we have already seen quite a few fun events in celebration for it on campus. This month is especially important for students of Hispanic heritage, but that does not mean that everyone else can’t celebrate with them. In fact, we should all be celebrating Hispanic heritage and taking advantage of the many opportunities on campus to do so. 

While you may not be of Hispanic heritage yourself, you almost certainly have friends and classmates who are. Now is the perfect time to learn and celebrate beside your friends. You should also keep in mind that Hispanic history is not exclusive to people of Hispanic heritage. Hispanic history plays a role in all our histories, and we are lucky to have benefited from the contributions of many Hispanic people in the world of activism, art and much more. 

If you enjoy things like churros, Salsa dancing or Latin pop music, you can thank the many Hispanic figures who have helped create and perfect them over the years to be as we know them now. They didn’t just pop up out of nowhere – people across history have added their own styles so that they are ever evolving. No churro is made the same by the same two people. Salsa dancers all add a bit of personal flair on top of their technique. Latin pop artists bring all kinds of different experiences and ideas for music that makes each song unique. 

These are just a few of the many examples of important Hispanic creations we can all enjoy. The importance of Hispanic figures extends well beyond creations like this, though. So many of these figures have contributed and continue to contribute to our society through their talents, and it is important that we take time to remember them, especially during Hispanic Heritage Month. So, let’s take a look at some important Hispanic figures that have made contributions to all of our histories. 

You probably learned about the historic Brown v. Board of Education supreme court case in some of your history classes, but have you ever heard of Mendez v. Westminster? The parents of Sylvia Mendez, a Hispanic civil rights activist, sued a school in Westminster in 1946 because the school would not accept the children as students because they were Hispanic. The judge of the case ended up ruling in favor of desegregating Hispanic students across four school districts, which set the precedent for Brown v. Board of Education eight years later. Mendez later went on to be an activist for education and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. 

If you fell victim to the Hamilton craze a few years ago or enjoy the soundtracks of Disney films such as Encanto or Moana, you know that Lin Manuel Miranda is an incredibly talented artist. He has brought a ton of diversity to the stage through his musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights,” and he has inspired artists everywhere to do what they love and create. 

In 1993, Ellen Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go on a mission to space. She also later became the first Hispanic person and second woman to serve as the director of the Johnson Space center. Spending around 1,000 hours in space and contributing tons of research to NASA, she remains an important figure in both women’s and Hispanic history. 

These individuals are just a few of the many Hispanic figures we aim to celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month. Furthermore, we are celebrating all of our friends and neighbors of Hispanic heritage, too. If you find yourself looking for something to do this weekend, do some research on important Hispanic figures and ask your Hispanic friends how you can celebrate with them. Hispanic Heritage is important to all of us, so let’s celebrate today and every day.