From the nation’s first explorers to today’s top professional athletes, Hispanic heritage has made an indelible mark on American culture and society. This month, the National Park Service and its bureaus are celebrating the rich history of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. This online gallery features historic sites across the country where visitors can learn more about the contributions of Hispanic people, from the grito(link is external) of the earliest settlers to the star power of Latino baseball players like Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez.
Hispanic Heritage Month began as a weeklong observation in 1968, but was expanded to a month with legislation signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1988. The celebration takes place September 15 through October 15.
More than 500 years of Hispanic and Latino heritage are preserved at the nation’s parks. The National Park Service and its partners in communities nationwide have a variety of educational resources to help students learn more about these histories. The Hispanic Heritage Month Education Resource page(link is external) brings together resources created at NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes, lesson plans for K-12 classrooms, and think pieces on events and experiences from the many cultures that make up Hispanic heritage in the United States.
The US Census has tracked the growth of Hispanic and Latino communities. In the 2020 census, 62.1 million Americans identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino. The Census also shows that the US Hispanic population has grown faster than any other racial group in the last decade.
Hispanic and Latino Americans have contributed to every facet of the American experience. From the arts to agriculture, sports to business, the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans are diverse and enduring. The NEH-funded documentary series Latino Americans(link is external) and its companion website explore some of these stories from the past and present.
For example, the American Women’s History Museum(link is external) explores how Latinas and Latinos have helped shape the world of American women, including in politics, business, and sports.!Pleibol in the Barrios and the Big Leagues(link is external) explores how Hispanic and Latino baseball players have changed the game of professional baseball.
Despite these achievements, the US Hispanic population has a long way to go to achieve economic parity with other groups in the country. According to the Urban Institute, Latinos are more likely to live in poverty than any other racial group in America. And yet the US Hispanic population continues to grow, making it more important than ever to understand what this community has to offer America.