Communities across the region are gathering to celebrate and acknowledge National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
The month encapsulates several significant dates in Hispanic history. Sept. 15 is the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America,” and the month will focus on the economic, social, and political growth of the country’s Hispanic community.
Lynn, which is home to around 40,000 Hispanics and Latinos, has already had several events to commemorate the month, including a new exhibit at Galleries at LynnArts, which runs through Oct. 28.
The Hispanic Excellence Exhibit 2023 invited local Hispanic artists and artists of Hispanic descent to submit works in various mediums like painting, photography, textiles, and sculptures to represent their identities.
The North Shore Latino Business Association on Sutton Street hosted an event on Monday that featured a variety of local restaurants, as well as music and dance celebrating Hispanic culture.
The city is also playing host to a film screening and reception of “In the Time of Butterflies” at the Lynn Auditorium on Oct. 3. The film is a retelling of a sister’s journey to freedom during the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
A flag parade and flag-raising event is also scheduled at City Hall on Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. to celebrate the city’s Hispanic and Latino diasporas.
Earlier this month, Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson issued a formal proclamation to mark the month-long celebration.
“Hispanic Heritage Month is an incredible opportunity to speak with one voice, acknowledging the crucial role that Hispanics play in shaping the future of our country and our world,” the proclamation read.
In its first recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Swampscott Select Board read a proclamation to honor Hispanic Americans’ legacies, contributions, and cultures throughout the Commonwealth and the nation.
“For the first time in our town’s history, we recognize Hispanic people here and anywhere in the United States, as we pay respect to the cultures and populations and celebrate the contributions of all Hispanic peoples to the culture of diversity, innovation, and resilience that has had an indelible impact on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States,” Select Board Vice Chair Katie Phelan read.
The observation was first recognized in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1987, Rep. Esteban E. Torres, of California, proposed expanding the week-long celebration to a full month. The next year, Illinois Sen. Paul Simon introduced a version of Torres’ bill, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
“The recorded Hispanic heritage has been a part of the DNA of American culture with an undeniable influence in education, public safety, infrastructure, economic development, culinary arts, and governance,” Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald read Wednesday evening.
As Fitzgerald and members of the Select Board took turns reading the town’s proclamation, Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher’s section quoted the trailblazing Mexican American labor activist Cesar Chavez.
“Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures,” Fletcher read, quoting Chavez. “Thus, we celebrate the contributions of the robust Hispanic diaspora to include Spain, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.”
Select Board member Doug Thompson said the town encourages all local businesses and organizations to acknowledge the 30-day period.
“(We) encourage all faith-based and nonprofit organizations, residents, businesses, and public institutions to acknowledge, honor, value, and celebrate Hispanic people’s historic and current contributions locally and beyond, while also recognizing the ongoing interconnected struggles of all Hispanic communities locally and beyond,” Thompson said.
In Marblehead, Helaine Hazlett and Sarai Miller, representatives from the town’s Task Force Against Discrimination, will be going before the Select Board to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month with a reading of a proclamation.
Other organizations in town are celebrating and honoring Hispanic Heritage Month in a variety of ways.
The Marblehead School of Ballet was selected to perform in the José Mateo Ballet Theatre’s 14th Annual Dance for World Community Festival, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday, Sept. 23, but rescheduled to next summer due to weather.
In partnership with New York-based nonprofit dance company BALAM Dance Theatre, the school will perform a number of Spanish dances in celebration of Hispanic heritage while at the festival.
The school will be dancing on Massachusetts Avenue in Harvard Square in Cambridge, where it, along with BALAM, will perform the Spanish dances “Las Niñas del Pasodoble” and “Soleá de Arcas” in front of the public.
In Saugus, Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Debra Panetta said she was unaware of any events honoring Hispanic Heritage Month.
“I think it would be great to participate in an event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month,” Panetta said.
