| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Thursday, October 03 2002 |
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| During Hispanic Heritage month we celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of Hispanics to this great country as proclaimed by the United States Congress. But even if you are not Hispanic, you are somehow touched, surrounded, bombarded and maybe even aroused by Hispanic culture. It only takes one day to realize that Hispanics-or Latinos, if you prefer that term-are, and have been for centuries, an integral part your life.
Let's suppose you live in Los Angeles, Mesa, El Paso, Santa Fe, Las Vegas or Aurora. All those cities have Spanish names and are in states that were once Mexican territories. But even if you don't live in California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada or Colorado, it's hard to travel across the United States without running into a town, river or street with a Spanish name.
On your way to work scanning the radio for the traffic report there is a chance that you will find it first in Spanish. Spanish language radio and television stations as well as newspapers and magazines have proliferated in the U.S., particularly in the last 20 years.
No matter what line of work you are in there is a good possibility that one or more of your co-workers are of Hispanic origin. Your company could do business with Hispanics or have a subsidiary south of the border. Hispanics now comprise 12.5 percent of the U.S. population and is already the largest minority if you include the almost 4 million U.S. citizens that live on the island of Puerto Rico. As consumers Hispanic purchasing power surpassed the 500 billion mark this year.
It's time for lunch. You could have a hamburger, a club sandwich or maybe a taco, burrito, tortilla soup or Santa Fe chicken salad. It would not be odd to have chips and salsa put on your table instead of bread before your meal. Salsa has taken over ketchup as the preferred condiment in the country. Corona is the best selling beer in the United States. As for dessert, it could be chocolate, strawberry, vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream. By the way, the ingredients in your salad were most likely picked by a Latino farm-worker.
You're having your in-laws over for dinner. You call your Salvadoran gardener to make sure the lawn is nicely trimmed. A quick stop at the market for some last minute items will take through the isle where you can find tortillas, refried beans, habichuelas, taco shells, all types of canned chiles and maybe some frozen Cuban croquetas. Food items from different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean fill shelves in supermarkets to fill a demand for home cooked meals and exotic hot new dishes.
As you're preparing dinner, your teenager could very well be locked up in her or his room listening to Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, J-lo or Gloria Estefan, even though you would prefer to hear Placido Domingo's melodic voice. Latin entertainers have become the good will ambassadors of the Hispanic community. The popularity of their music has resulted in very successful cross-overs.
When your in-laws arrive the conversation could be geared toward those classic films on cable with great actors such as Ricardo Montalban, Anthony Quinn or Rita Moreno. The kids might want to hear another one of Grandpa's war stories when he served in the Korean War with several Puerto-Rican soldiers. Actually, Hispanics have served honorably in every war this country has been involved in. 38 have received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor.
Whether it's in the arts and entertainment, fashion or music, scientific research, the space program, politics or just every day life, Latinos have left their mark and continue to have a profound impact in the growth and development of this country. So until October 15th take a moment to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. Go to a parade, a concert or a Latino art show. Have a taco, pastelito or an arepa. Enjoy a good bolero, merengue or vallenato. Spend some time with your amigos. Enjoy the Latino diversity that surrounds you. "Viva la Hispanidad". |
