Do you celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month? When is it?
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of
independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its
independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.
The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-
speaking people in the United States of any race. On the 2000 Census form,
people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than
35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000
Census.
