September 15th marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month - a month-long celebration of the over 60 million Hispanic and Latino individuals in the United States. Culturally, Latino and Hispanic individuals in the United States are extremely diverse- encompassing so many ethnicities and histories that the umbrella terms actually leave out a lot of nuances.
Representing people living in the U.S. who can trace their roots back to the Spanish-speaking regions of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, Hispanic/Latino individuals can be someone who just arrived to this country or whose family has been in North America for hundreds of years. Though a very broad umbrella, being Latino or Hispanic can be a shared identity that brings people together as well - over things from food to human rights.
Our team at Thrive is a good example of how diverse the Hispanic/Latino population is across our nation. This month they shared with us a little bit about their identity:
What cultures or ethnic groups do you identify with / What does being Hispanic/Latino mean to you?
Oz: I identify as both Hispanic and Latino.
Matias: Growing up here in the States and with my family being from Argentina, I identify as Argentinian-American. For me, the shared language (sorry, Brazil) has been the most important connection to the Hispanic/Latino community; it's one of the greatest gifts that my parents gave me, by teaching me to speak Spanish - castellano, specifically - in my infancy.
Maya: I am a second generation Mexican American woman. I proudly identify as a Latina/ Mexican American.
How do you celebrate or honor your Hispanic/Latino heritage in your life?
Oz: I normally try to remember my roots and where I came from by cooking my traditional food and listening to Latin/Hispanic music. I reconnect with friends from my country often, allowing me to speak our own type of Spanish (Nicaraguan slang).
Maya: As a Latina, family is always a priority. That means that when someone in the family needs help, you do anything and everything you can to help them. Our house growing up was not large by any means, but if there was a family member who needed a place to sleep, we would always find a way to make room for them to stay comfortably with us. In my life today, I do my best to keep those family values in my heart, and allow my own home to be open to everyone.
The same goes for the way we cook and share our food. To me, it feels like food is another "love language" in our culture. If I was having a bad day, I would call my Abuela (my dad's mom), and let her know that I wanted to come over and eat lunch with her, and she would have a huge home cooked Mexican meal waiting for me. I have so many memories of trying to learn how to cook from my Abuela, and even though it feels like my food is just never as delicious as hers, I still feel connected with her and our culture any time I try to recreate one of her dishes.
Aside from the way I cook my food and practice my family values in my home, one of the most obvious ways that I try to honor and celebrate my culture is by speaking Spanish. I am so grateful that my family made it a priority to enroll me in bilingual education, and speak to me in Spanish as I grew up. Not only have I been able to communicate better with my family, but I have also had so many more opportunities to make friends and create connections with folks everywhere I go. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to connect with the Latinx community here in Central Oregon and am excited to continue working in my position as a Bilingual Outreach Advocate here with Thrive.
Do you have a wish or dream for the Hispanic/Latino community (either in Central Oregon or the country as a whole)?
Oz: My dream for the Hispanic/Latino community is to be able to feel integrated and feel that we're seen the same way as any other member of the community, understanding our background and where we come from and not just feel tolerated, but accepted and respected in the community.
Thank you Maya, Oz and Matias for sharing a little bit about yourselves ❤️
Over at Thrive we’re excited to attend our 5th Latino Fest in Madras on September 14th. If you’ve never been, it’s about time! Latino Fest is fun celebration with food, music, dancing, arts and crafts and resources in Sahalee Park. Hope to see you there!
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