by Angelica Hiraldo ‘23, Jonathan Hernandez ‘24
National Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place from September 15th to October 15th, is a time not only to look at the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic individuals from the past but also those who are making meaningful contributions today, reflecting and celebrating all of their accomplishments. Here at St. Mark’s, there is no exception.
Beginning in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month was observed as National Hispanic Heritage Week but later was expanded to an entire month in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. The month begins on the 15th of September, which is the Independence Day of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, the Independence days of numerous other Latin American countries such as Mexico and Chile also fall in this time period. Thus, with numerous holidays and days of celebration, it is no surprise that St. Mark’s has been joining in the celebrations.
All around campus, students have been celebrating and reflecting in many different ways with the help of Los Leones, the Latinx affinity group at St. Mark's. First, they kicked off the year with a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with food, music, candy, and meaningful conversations about Mexico’s Independence Day on September 16th. With fun activities and important historical facts, all were able to join in the lively festivities. On September 30th, the group gathered in Ms. Moreta’s (one of the Los Leones’ faculty advisors) for an evening full of music, community building, and empanada, and churro making.
In addition, the heads of Los Leones, Aime Murillo (V form), and Jonathan Hernandez (IV form), have created a Hispanic Heritage Reading List for the entire St. Mark’s community to explore different cultures and different aspects of the Latinx Identity, some popular ones being The Poet X by Elizbeth Acevedo, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alverez, and The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The entire reading list can be found here.
As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end, the St. Mark’s community is still highly encouraged to celebrate and explore the different aspects of Latinx culture in the future as well. While we are only in the first month of the school year, there have been many celebrations of LatinX culture at St. Mark’s, with many more to come in the future.
