Heritage and History
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15th and ends on this date in October.
What is October 15th?
Fun Fact: The celebration began as a week in 1968 and expanded to a month in 1988.
The Galápagos Islands, whose animals helped shape Charles Darwin’s thinking, belong to this South American country.
What is Ecuador?
Fun fact: The islands lie roughly 600 miles west of Ecuador’s mainland.
Nicknamed the “Queen of Salsa,” this Cuban-born singer helped bring the music to a wider U.S. audience.
Who is Celia Cruz?
Fun fact: She received the National Medal of Arts.
This Peruvian dish traditionally features raw fish marinated in citrus and seasoned with chili pepper and salt.
What is ceviche?
Fun fact: Its preparation and the traditions surrounding it joined UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2023.
This Cuban-born bandleader played Ricky Ricardo opposite his real-life wife, Lucille Ball, on I Love Lucy.
Who is Desi Arnaz?
Fun fact: He also co-created and produced the show.
This Puerto Rican Pittsburgh Pirates star became the first Latino major-leaguer to reach 3,000 hits.
Who is Roberto Clemente?
Fun fact: MLB’s award for outstanding community service bears his name.
September 15th honors the independence anniversary of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and this fifth Central American country.
What is Nicaragua?
Fun Fact: Mexico celebrates its independence day the very next day, September 16th.
This mountain range runs along western South America and is home to the ruins of Machu Picchu.
What are the Andes?
Fun fact: Machu Picchu sits about 50 miles northwest of Cusco, Peru.
This Dominican dance and music style takes its name from the same word as a whipped egg-white dessert.
What is merengue?
Fun fact: It began as a rural folk dance and later became a ballroom dance.
This Mexican food wraps corn dough—often with a filling—in a corn husk or banana leaf before cooking.
What is a tamale?
Fun fact: Tamales are among the foods commonly served during Day of the Dead observances.
This Puerto Rican performer won an Oscar for playing Anita in the film West Side Story.
Who is Rita Moreno?
Fun fact: She later completed an EGOT: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
This celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday is often marked by family, music, and dancing.
What is a quinceañera?
Fun fact: Some celebrations include a choreographed waltz.
This Mexican priest's 1810 call to action known as the Grito de Dolores helped launch Mexico's independence movement.
Who is Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla?
Fun Fact: Mexico’s Independence Day is September 16—not Cinco de Mayo.
This canal, opened in 1914, lets ships travel between the Atlantic and Pacific without sailing around South America.
What is the Panama Canal?
Fun fact: Its locks raise ships to the level of inland lakes, then lowers them again
A guitarrón, violins, trumpets, and a small guitar called a vihuela are commonly heard in this Mexican ensemble.
What is mariachi?
Fun fact: Trumpets became part of the ensemble much later than its string instruments.
This Mexican sauce has many variations, but dried chilies are central to versions commonly served with chicken.
What is mole?
Fun fact: Despite its reputation, chocolate is not an ingredient in every mole.
La Casa Azul, now a museum in Mexico City, was the home of this artist celebrated for her self-portraits.
Who is Frida Kahlo?
Fun fact: La Casa Azul means “The Blue House.”
In 1993, this astronaut became the first Latina to travel to space.
Who is Ellen Ochoa?
Fun fact: She later became the first Hispanic director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s 1862 victory over French forces in the Battle of this city.
What is Puebla?
Fun fact: The victory did not end the war, but it became a symbol of Mexican resistance.
This lake on the Peru–Bolivia border is famous as the world’s highest lake navigable by large vessels.
What is Lake Titicaca?
Fun fact: It sits on the high Andean plateau called the Altiplano.
This dance associated with Buenos Aires is often accompanied by the bandoneón, a button-accordion instrument.
What is tango?
Fun fact: Tango reached mainstream audiences after it became fashionable in Paris.
Corn, beans, and this spicy ingredient form the foundation of the traditional Mexican cuisine recognized by UNESCO.
What are chili peppers?
Fun fact: UNESCO describes the cuisine as more than recipes—it includes farming methods and community customs.
The fictional town of Macondo is the setting of One Hundred Years of Solitude by this Colombian author.
Who is Gabriel García Márquez?
Fun fact: He received the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature
In 2009, this New Yorker of Puerto Rican parentage became the first Latina justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Who is Sonia Sotomayor?
Fun fact: She was also the third woman to serve on the Court.
This labor organizer co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez and coined “Sí se puede.”
Fun fact: Huerta also led boycotts, strikes, and marches for farmworkers’ rights.
This Inca site in Peru may have served as a royal retreat for the ruler Pachacuti.
What is Machu Picchu?
Fun fact: Its exact purpose remains uncertain, even though much of its stonework survives.
Rooted in Afro-Cuban music, this style grew largely in New York City and shares its name with the Spanish word for “sauce.”
What is salsa?
Fun fact: The musical label salsa took hold in the 1960s.
This traditional process treats maize with an alkaline solution before it is ground for foods such as tortillas.
What is nixtamalization?
Fun fact: The process increases corn’s nutritional value.
This Mexican muralist, who was married to Frida Kahlo, painted large public works that brought art beyond galleries.
Who is Diego Rivera?
Fun fact: Kahlo and Rivera divorced in 1939 and remarried in 1940.
During Mexico’s Day of the Dead, this home altar may hold photographs, candles, water, and marigolds to honor loved ones.
What is an ofrenda?
Fun fact: Marigolds’ bright color and scent are traditionally believed to help guide returning spirits.