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Hispanic Heritage Month

The Hispanic community celebrates their month and thinks of the things they’ve accomplished throughout the years. Did you know Hispanic heritage month starts on the 15 of September and ends on the 15 of October but why do we start celebrating in the middle of the month? Manny Latin American Countries were able to gain their Independence from Spain on Sept 15, 1821, this countries were, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, Mexico officially gain independence from Spain on the 27th of September 1821 Mexico independence celebration is held on September 16 this date is known as the “grito of Dolores ” which translates to the Cry of Dolores, El Grito marked the beginning of the Mexican war of independence. Priest Miguel Hidalgo gather men to fight during the Mexican War of independence and it said that he rang his church bells to signal the beginning of the war, even to this day the president of Mexico rings that same bell every year during Independence day.

Hispanics In the US

Cesar Chaves – labor leader and civil rights activist who fought for the rights of farmworkers in the Unites states in 1960s and 1970s, he advocated for better working conditions and fair treatment for farmworkers.

Sonia Sotomayor- Born on June 25, 1954, In New York Sonia is the first Latina Supreme court Justice in U.S history, Sonia Sotomayor was nonamidated by President Barack Obama and has been serving on the Supreme court sense 2009.

Ellen Ochoa- Born on May 10, 1958, in LA California in 1993 she became the first Hispanic women astronaut to travel to space and spent over 900 hours in space she also invented a mechanism that helped computers process information faster.

Sylvia Rivera- Transgender Latina activist who fought for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

Hispanics who have left their mark on the world.

Colored Tv was created by Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena, a Mexican scientist and inventor who is known for his contribution on the development of color tv in 1940 Gonzales had a color tv system was used in Mexico and other countries

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Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cardenas, he created Birth control.

Albert Baez American physicist he was born in Mexico Baez had a great part contributing to the field of X-ray microscopes. Baez was more than a scientist he was a social activist who advocated for peace and education.

Chicano culture- Chicano movement started in the 1960s , a social and political movement that pursued to empower Mexican Americans , they addressed issues , civil rights , social justice and cultural identity, The Chicano community expressed their experiences through their music and art, till this day The Chicano culture is still thriving and continues to leave their mark in the world by representing their culture and influencing areas such as music  fashion, food and language.

Rea Ann Silvia, Mexican American Makeup artist invented the beauty blender while working on the set of Girlfriends.

Elena T Medo was the inventor behind the breast pump system that has helped many moms around the world.

Lastly I want to say that every country celebrates their independence day beautifully  , from bands playing , traditional dancing , to their military parade I want to mention the  k9 unit in this year’s parade in Mexico , they showed many dogs who were so well behaved some dogs got tired they had to be carried by their handlers , they honored Frida a navy dog  that served for 9 years went too 53 rescue operations around Mexico, Guatemala , Haiti , Ecuador , Frida was able to save 12 lives and locate bodies during 2010 Haiti’s earthquake, in Mexico she also worked on the rescue after Mexico had an earthquake, In Puebla Mexico Frida has her own statue. One more dog they honored during the parade was Proteo who was sent to Turkey this year after they suffered from an earthquake unfortunately Proteo died in the line of duty and Proteo wasn’t able to return to Mexico and continue helping others. Want to know more about Frida and Proteo https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/02/15/brave-mexican-rescue-dog-proteo-dies-after-saving-lives-in-turkey-quake/   https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/mexicos-frida-beloved-rescue-dog-turned-national-icon-dies-2022-11-16/

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About the Contributor
Kimberly Lopez
Kimberly Lopez, Reporter
Hi, I'm a senior here at Lakes some of my favorite things to do is writing which is one of the reasons I joined journalism class. I also like to read, paint, playing tennis, to do pottery which I find fun and sometimes challenging to do, I think pottery is something everyone should try at least once, one of my recent hobbies has been building Legos I have 6 of the botanical collection so far. But I hope to write as much as I can during the school year.

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  • C

    Chase G WashingtonOct 14, 2023 at 11:20 am

    There are so many historical Hispanic figures who get little recognition so it’s great to learn about some of them in this article!

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  • B

    Branasia !!Oct 12, 2023 at 3:55 pm

    great piece kimberly !

    Reply