As we all know, Hispanic Heritage Month was from September 15th through October 15th. We all heard the announcements, saw the posters with inspirational people of Hispanic origin and even saw the numerous Google doodles, but we only learned about it from a non-Hispanic perspective. I’ve interviewed students at our own school who come from Hispanic origins and asked them about their culture and what they would like us to know. 

Ashley Bongard, a sophomore of Mexican heritage, said that her culture is “Lively, hardworking, and colorful” as well as saying “I absolutely love going [to Mexico] because the atmosphere is so different from the US! The food is amazing and it’s always great to eat genuine Mexican food which is unmatched!” Ashley’s palate enjoys pozole (a meat stew,) conchas (sweet bread,) tacos and churros. 

Mexican culture is beautiful and vivid, but there are so many more countries that fall under the Hispanic heritage umbrella. Lina Ruiz, a Colombian sophomore said if she had to describe her culture with a few words, she feels that “Family, Friends and really good food” would sum it up. Some of her personal favorites are tamales (corn based dough with stuffing that is steamed in a corn or banana leaf) and ajiaco (a delectable soup with vegetables and meat). 

Other than food, Hispanic cultures are also known for their holidays. Catholic holidays hold a lot of significance such as Christmas, Easter, Good Friday etc. A shocking thing to note is that contrary to popular belief, Cinco De Mayo is not observed throughout most of Mexico and actually does not commemorate Mexico’s independence. Rather, it marks the day a battle took place against France. 

Ruiz also wanted to convey that not every Hispanic person is of Mexican descent. She added “saying that is like assuming someone is British just because they’re European, so it’s offensive to non-Mexican Hispanics. It tells you that they view all Hispanics as Mexican and nothing more when there’s so many equally amazing countries with their own beautiful culture and traditions to explore.”

Every individual culture should be celebrated and recognized for its own traditions, rather than being lumped together, which detracts from the beauty of their individuality. We should all keep this in mind before instinctively grouping people together without thinking about their individual significance. If we all work to change our mindset together, we can truly make progress to respect every culture.