National Hispanic Heritage Month

Photo from: https://www.browardprevention.org/diversity/hispanic-heritage-month/

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated. In 1968, the Heritage “month” lasted only a week, but due to the extensive history and culture, it was expanded.

In between these two months, some Latin-Americans countries became independent. Countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate their independence on the 15^th of September. Mexico celebrates their independence on the 16^th of September, Chile on the 18^th and Belize on the 21^st.

In America, we celebrate this traditional month because we want to cherish the Hispanics that have come to the United States to make this country a better place to live in. Along these lines, Ottawa University has a good number of Hispanics who bring great prestige to the school.

Monica Otero, Senior soccer player, speaks about how she was born in Mexico yet raised in Oklahoma. Otero has a big family, and although she has struggled with shifting from school to soccer to doing homework and taking care of her younger siblings, she has made it through majority of college. Now she is just one step closer to being the first member of her family to graduate college.

One way OU celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month is by preparing a country’s meal for lunch. Last year the bistro made Venezuelan food including Arepas, Arroz con Pollo and Arroz con Leche (dessert).  

Ottawa University has a mixture of students from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Naysla Munos is a Colombian soccer player who transferred from Fullerton College in California. She is a great representation of constant effort and passion for what she does. She is one of the best defenders for the Women’s soccer program and is also a last semester senior.

Erasmo Torres, a Salvadorian Junior who has been attending OU for the past three years as an engineering major and a great midfield asset to the OU men soccer team, says, “Being Hispanic is a big thing for me. I am not only bilingual but also I feel a pressure to become successful.”

DACA students are going through a hard time since the program has been postponed.

“Even if I am not a DACA student, what if I was, does that mean my three years in college would not have been worth if tomorrow I was facing deportation?,” Torres asks.

“The pride to be Hispanic is what many of us need to keep (our spirits) high. For many, this month is just another month, but for many Hispanics it’s a constant reminder that we need to be more; we need to be better,” Torres says.