September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month.
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.
Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period.
Learn more by exploring our e-database, Hispanic Life in America, which details the experience and impact of Hispanic Americans as recorded by the news media, 1704 to today.
Other ways to celebrate include visiting HispanicHeritageMonth.gov, enjoying our display inside the Library, and checking out some of our books listed below, such as My Broken Language by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and co-writer of In the Heights, Quiara Alegría Hudes. Hudes tells her lyrical story of coming of age against the backdrop of an ailing Philadelphia barrio, with her sprawling Puerto Rican family as a collective muse.
In addition, you may search our catalog for our large collection of Spanish language materials, or contact the Heritage Room to view local Hispanic heritage items, such as these photos featured in our previous blog post, Honoring the Hispanic Heritage of Redlands.
Biography
¡Hola papi! : how to come out in a Walmart parking lot and other life lessons / Brammer, John Paul, 2021
The crusades of Cesar Chavez : a biography / Pawel, Miriam, 2014
The universal tone : bringing my story to light / Santana, Carlos, 2014
Clemente : the true legacy of an undying hero / Clemente (Family), 2013
My beloved world / Sotomayor, Sonia, 2013
Beyond rain of gold / Villaseñor, Victor, 2011
And a voice to sing with : a memoir / Baez, Joan, 2009
Roberto Clemente : the great one / Markensen, Bruce, 1998
Dreaming with his eyes open : a life of Diego Rivera / Marnham, Patrick, 1998
Arts and Recreation
Trejo : my life of crime, redemption, and Hollywood / Trejo, Danny, 2021
In the Heights : finding home / Miranda, Lin-Manuel, 2021
Joan Baez : the last leaf / Thomson, Elizabeth, 2020
Writing the future : Basquiat and the hip-hop generation / Munsell, Liz, 2020
Spirit run : a 6,000-mile marathon through North America’s stolen land / Álvarez, Noé, 2020
Goya : a portrait of the artist / Tomlinson, Janis A., 2020
Frida in America : the creative awakening of a great artist / Stahr, Celia, 2020
They bled blue : the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers : Fernandomania, strike-season mayhem, and the weirdest championship baseball had ever seen / Turbow, Jason, 2019
Frida Kahlo at home / Barbezat, Suzanne, 2016
Frida Kahlo’s garden / Zavala, Adriana, 2015
Goya : his life and works in 500 images : an illustrated account of the artist, his life and context, with a gallery of 300 paintings and drawings / Hodge, Susie, 2015
Salvador Dalí / Shanes, Eric, 2014
Why soccer matters / Pelé, 2014
True love / Lopez, Jennifer, 2014
Rita Moreno : a memoir / Moreno, Rita, 2013
I’m not gonna lie : and other lies you tell when you turn 50 / Lopez, George, 2013
Salvador Dali : 1904-1989 / Wolf, Norbert, 2008
Diego Rivera : his art and his passions / Souter, Gerry, 2007
American dream : ten years of prints, books & drawings = diez años de grabados, libros y dibujos / Rodríguez, Artemio, 2006
Pablo Picasso : a modern master / Leslie, Richard, 2006
The Baroque world of Fernando Botero / Sillevis, John, 2006
The diary of Frida Kahlo : an intimate self-portrait / Kahlo, Frida, 2005
Chicano visions : American painters on the verge / Marin, Cheech, 2002
Mexican muralists : Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros / Rochfort, Desmond, 1998
Picasso / Lévy, Lorraine, 1991
Art in Latin America : the modern era, 1820-1980 / Ades, Dawn, 1989
Diego Rivera : a retrospective / Rivera, Diego, 1986
Texas-Mexican cancionero : folksongs of the lower border / Paredes, Americo, 1976
Spanish Language Materials –
Trejo : mi vida de crimen, redención y Hollywood / Trejo, Danny, 2021
Literature and Poetry
My broken language : a memoir / Hudes, Quiara Alegría, 2021
A farewell to Gabo and Mercedes : a son’s memoir of Gabriel García Márquez and Mercedes Barcha / García, Rodrigo, 2021
Between two fires : intimate writings on life, love, food & flavor / Esquivel, Laura, 2000
Postcolonial love poem / Diaz, Natalie, 2020
Every day we get more illegal / Herrera, Juan Felipe, 2020
Thrown in the throat / Garcia, Benjamin, 2020
Native country of the heart : a memoir / Moraga, Cherríe, 2019
Lima : limón / Scenters-Zapico, Natalie, 2019
Black dove : essays on mama, mi’jo, and me / Castillo, Ana, 2016
A thousand forests in one acorn : an anthology of Spanish-language fiction / Miles, Valerie, 2014
Cubanisimo! : the Vintage Book of contemporary Cuban literature / García, Cristina, 2003
Fiction
Chola salvation / Gonzalez, Estella, 2021
Las biuty queens / Ojeda, Iván Monalisa, 2021
The five wounds : a novel / Quade, Kirstin Valdez, 2021
The rock eaters : stories / Peynado, Brenda, 2021
Gordo : stories / Cortez, Jaime, 2021
The president and the frog / De Robertis, Carolina, 2021
Songs for the flames : stories / Vásquez, Juan Gabriel, 2021
Science Fiction
(Star Wars) Last shot / Older, Daniel José, 2018
Infomocracy / Older, Malka, 2016
History
Horizontal vertigo : a city called Mexico / Villoro, Juan, 2021