By Laila Casiano | Staff Writer and Caroline Averitt | Life Editor

For some students at Arkansas State University, Hispanic Heritage Month marks a time to celebrate and honor their heritage. Some never celebrated the month until coming to A-State. 

Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, recognizes the ways Hispanic communities influence culture in the United States. 

Faith Carson, a first-year music education major from Jonesboro and from Peruvian heritage, shared her opinions on how Hispanic Heritage Month unites people together. 

“It’s a way to bring yourself together with people that you may not have literally anything else in common with, but there is something so powerful about having the same culture or having a similar culture. It’s beautiful to compare and contrast,” Carson said.

Lizbeth Guzman, a senior political science and world languages major from Bryant, Arkansas, finds pride in her Hispanic heritage. Her mom is originally from Guatemala and her dad is originally from El Salvador. 

“Sometimes, people just have one idea of what Hispanic is and they just mush us together. We are individual groups with our own cultures, our own customs and even separate dialects in our countries,” Guzman said. “For me, it’s a sense of pride. (Hispanic Heritage Month is) a time for me to be like, ‘This is my heritage.’”

Natan Gomez, a senior biotechnology major from Irapuato, Mexico, said he did not know about Hispanic Heritage Month until moving to the U.S.

“I didn’t even know it was a thing,” Gomez said. “But this year as president (of Hermana y Hermano) I’ve been informing myself a lot about it.”

Angelly Sanchez, senior majoring in international studies from Bryant, Arkansas, spent some of her childhood in Puerto Rico. She said she didn’t know about Hispanic Heritage Month until coming to A-State. 

“We should have something to celebrate to have that inclusion too,” Sanchez said.

Cultural Influences

Hispanic culture influences U.S. culture in many ways, including language, food and music. 

About 13% of the United States population speaks Spanish at home. According to Pew Research Center, many Hispanic Americans find it important for future generations to speak Spanish.

Carson said her bilingualism helped people who only spoke Spanish at her prior customer service job.

“Everyone deserves the same enjoyable experience wherever they go and you shouldn’t be not allowed to have that kind of experience just because you don’t speak the same language,” Carson said. 

Guzman tries to stay in the habit of speaking Spanish at home. 

“The most important thing I think is keeping Spanish alive in your house,” Guzman said. “I don’t want to lose my Spanish. It’s something that keeps me close to my heritage and to my family.”

Hispanic influences on food can be found all over the United States. According to Brizo FoodMetrics, 11% of U.S. restaurants serve Mexican food. 

Some Hispanic cuisine has been combined with American cuisine. 

“There’s so much we’ve contributed, like the idea of Tex-mex or Cali-mex,” Guzman said. 

Sanchez brings her culture to campus by cooking traditional Puerto Rican food. 

“My mom always cooks Puerto Rican food and now that I’ve moved out, I try to cook Puerto Rican food in my apartment, like even with my best friend,” Sanchez said.

Many Hispanic artists including Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Shakira and Karol G have risen in popularity across the United States. 

“Music brings people together from vastly different cultures,” Carson said. 

Sanchez shared how music is a key point to celebrating holidays. In Puerto Rico, friends and families gather with instruments to perform traditional Christmas songs during parties called parrandas. 

“You start singing in front of their house and then they come out, they party with you after inviting you inside their house and then you move onto the next house with the people who you just serenaded with,” Sanchez said. 

Cultural Identity

Some Hispanic students are international students, while others come from immigrant families. Sanchez said she tries to maintain her Hispanic culture since coming to the United States. 

“Are we really becoming American? Are we becoming less Puerto Rican?” Sanchez said. “No, we are Puerto Rican, whenever we are here, we represent the best we can. Nobody can tell us otherwise.”

Gomez said he uses his involvement on campus to educate others about Hispanic culture, including his participation in The Crimson and Cream Scholarship Pageant. 

“It was all based on my culture: my costume, my song,” Gomez said, “My runway was accustomed to my culture.” 

Carson said sometimes she does not feel Hispanic enough. 

“Sometimes I really invalidate myself. I’m not really as Hispanic as everybody else because I grew up kind of white,” Carson said. “Everyone has a different story to tell and a different path and a different makeup, it doesn’t really matter how you get there, you are Hispanic to the end, and that’s just what I have to remind myself.” 

Categories: Life