The observation of Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to recognize the contributions and vital presence of both Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and to observe their native heritage and contributing culture. Festivities begin on September 15, marking the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. With great fanfare, celebrations sweep across Latin America, Central American and on into Mexico and Chili commemorating each country’s independence from week to week!
Works cited:
Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, & National Park Service. (n.d.). National Hispanic Heritage Month 2018. Retrieved from https://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about/
Check out the titles below for more info on Hispanic Heritage Month:
Lado a Lado by
ISBN: 9780061227813
Publication Date: 2010-08-31
A powerful and accesible bilingual picture book that highlights "the power and impact of ordinary but dedicated citizens."* Every day, thousands of farmworkers harvested the food that ended up on kitchen tables all over the country. But at the end of the day, when the workers sat down to eat, there were only beans on their own tables. Then Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez teamed up. Together they motivated the workers to fight for their rights and, in the process, changed history. Award-winning author Monica Brown and acclaimed illustrator Joe Cepeda join together to create this stunning tribute to two of the most influential people of the twentieth century. "I love that this book introduces Dolores and Cesar as children and connects their early life experiences to the decisions they made as they grew up," commented reviewer Maria Ramos-Chertok in the blog "Latinxs in Kid Lit." "Given that I longed for bilingual children's books when my two sons were growing up, I only wish I had known about this book earlier." She added that Side by Side offers opportunities to open discussions about work and career, feminism, and friendship, as well as a fresh perspective on history. Todos los días, miles de campesinos cosechaban los alimentos que se servían en los hogares de todo el país. Pero al terminar la jornada, cuando los campesinos se sentaban a comer, lo único que había en sus propias mesas era frijoles. Entonces, Dolores Huerta y César Chávez se unieron para motivar a los trabajadores a luchar por sus derechos y en el proceso, cambiaron el curso de la historia. La premiada autora Monica Brown y el aclamado ilustrador Joe Cepeda se unen para crear éste impresionante tributo a dos de las personas más influentes del siglo veinte.
Ghetto Klown by
ISBN: 9781419715181
Publication Date: 2015-10-20
"Ghetto Klown is autobiographical dynamite--this is Leguizamo at his scathing, honest, moving, comedic best. Among the finest portraits of an artist as a young wounded talented man as I've read." --Junot Díaz "My main Johnny Legs has done it again. Ghetto Klown as a graphic novel? DOPENESS." --Spike Lee In Ghetto Klown, celebrated performer John Leguizamo lays bare his early years in blue-collar Queens, his salvation through acting and writing, and his colorful career trajectory. He brings us onto the sets of his films opposite stars such as Al Pacino and Patrick Swayze and with directors such as Baz Luhrmann and Brian De Palma, while also opening up about his offstage life in love and marriage. In this candid graphic novel memoir, Leguizamo offers a strong message of moving beyond self-doubt--and beyond the doubters--to claim some happiness. Originally staged on Broadway in 2011, Ghetto Klown won Leguizamo Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards before being adapted into an HBO special. Now, teaming up with artists Christa Cassano and Shamus Beyale, Leguizamo shares his life story in this vibrant, funny, and moving adaptation.
Sonia Sotomayor by
ISBN: 9781442403031
Publication Date: 2009-11-10
The inspiring and timely story of Sonia Sotomayor, who rose up from a childhood of poverty and prejudice to become the first Latino to be nominated to the US Supreme Court. Before Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took her seat in our nation's highest court, she was just a little girl in the South Bronx. Justice Sotomayor didn't have a lot growing up, but she had what she needed -- her mother's love, a will to learn, and her own determination. With bravery she became the person she wanted to be. With hard work she succeeded. With little sunlight and only a modest plot from which to grow, Justice Sotomayor bloomed for the whole world to see. Antes de que la magistrada de la Corte Suprema Sonia Sotomayor llegara al máximo tribunal de nuestra nación, no era más que una niñita en el South Bronx. La magistrada Sotomayor no tuvo mucho durante sus primeros años, pero sí tuvo lo que contaba -- el amor de su madre, la voluntad de aprender y su propia determinación. Con valentía se hizo la persona que quería ser. Con trabajo arduo triunfó. Con un poquito de sol en un solarcito donde crecer, la magistrada Sotomayor floreció para que todo el mundo la vea
War Against All Puerto Ricans by
ISBN: 9781568585017
Publication Date: 2015-04-07
In 1950, after over fifty years of military occupation and colonial rule, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico staged an unsuccessful armed insurrection against the United States. Violence swept through the island: assassins were sent to kill President Harry Truman, gunfights roared in eight towns, police stations and post offices were burned down. In order to suppress this uprising, the US Army deployed thousands of troops and bombarded two towns, marking the first time in history that theUS government bombed its own citizens. Nelson A. Denis tells this powerful story through the controversial life of Pedro Albizu Campos, who served as the president of the Nationalist Party. A lawyer, chemical engineer, and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law School, Albizu Campos was imprisoned for twenty-five years and died under mysterious circumstances. By tracing his life and death, Denis shows how the journey of Albizu Campos is part of a larger story of Puerto Rico and US colonialism. Through oral histories, personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files,War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico's history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination. Denis provides an unflinching account of the gunfights, prison riots, political intrigue, FBI and CIA covert activity, and mass hysteria that accompanied this tumultuous period in Puerto Rican history.
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