SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — There's a lot of weight carried by the word "Hispanic." It's sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably with other terms, like Latino.
As ABC 10News brings you coverage of Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to understand where the word comes from and the history behind the month-long celebration of the community.
In 1968, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed the week of Sept. 16 as National Hispanic Heritage Week. The move was made possible by a joint resolution sponsored by a group of congressmen, including two Latinos from California and Texas: Edward R. Roybal and Henry B. Gonzalez, respectively.
The president's proclamation read in part, "The people of Hispanic descent are the heirs for missionaries, captains, soldiers, and farmers who were motivated by a young spirit of adventure, and a desire to settle freely in a free land. This heritage is ours."
It was later extended by President Ronald Reagan to last 30 days from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The dates were picked because several Latin American countries celebrate the anniversary of their independence on Sept. 15, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico celebrates independence on Sept. 16, and Chile on Sept. 18.
San Diego State University Anthropology professor Dr. Ramona Perez explained to 10News in 2023 that around the time of the first proclamation, the idea of the U.S. being a melting pot of cultures was being disrupted and challenged.
"The origin of Hispanic Heritage Month actually derives from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s," Dr. Perez said. "The United States was really coming to grips with its diversity... We wanted to become a nation of immigrants, a nation that embraced its diversity and saw the power in that diversity."
"Hispanic" was created by the U.S. Census Bureau to describe Spanish-speaking nations worldwide, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Spain. It excludes Latin American countries where Spanish isn't the official language, such as Brazil and Belize.
The word is loaded with connotations of Spanish influence, with conquistadores forcing indigenous people in Latin America to assimilate to their language and religion.
In recent years, more attention has been paid to heritage before colonization.
"You see an embracing of the indigenous population and of the Afro-descendant population," Perez said.
It's important to note that celebrating indigenous heritage isn't new, in fact, it has been a key part of the Chicano Movement.
So, is Hispanic the right word to use for this heritage month? Does it describe the heritage of Latinos? We can't offer an answer, but perhaps one word isn't, and shouldn't, be enough to describe nearly 65 million people in the U.S.
