Welcome
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
We support this month with a national calendar and resources.
Our Story
Hispanic Heritage Month
Originally established as Hispanic Heritage Week by 1968 legislation signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, the initiative to expand it to a month was led by Colonel (Retired) Gil Coronado. In 1988, at a White House event in the Rose Garden, President Ronald Reagan signed Public Law 100-402, extending Hispanic Heritage Week to Hispanic Heritage Month to be celebrated from September 15 to October 15. The legislation was sponsored by Rep Esteban Torres (CA). and amended by Senator Paul Simon (IL). In attendance at the event was Colonel Gil Coronado who was recognized by President Reagan for his efforts in leading the campaign for Hispanic Heritage Month.
The time frame for Hispanic Heritage Month was selected as it is the anniversary of the Cry of Dolores (early morning, 16 September 1810), which marked the start of the Mexican War of Independence and thus resulted (in 1821) in independence for the New Spain Colony (now Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua) which became the Federal Republic of Central America.
The 30-day period also includes many dates of importance in the Hispanic community: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua celebrate their anniversary of independence on September 15; Mexico commemorates its independence on September 16; and Chile commemorates its independence on September 18. that attract visitors from all over the region.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage
The Story of Hispanic Heritage Month
The year was 1985 and Air Force Col. (Retired) Gil Coronado had just arrived in Washington, D.C., on a military assignment. He found himself rubbing elbows with some of the most influential and powerful politicians. His connection: his wife worked at a civil rights organization that involved many of those political elites.
Coronado had always thought about the heritage and history of Hispanic influence in America. At the time, Hispanic Heritage Week recognized those contributions. But for Coronado, that just wasn’t good enough. He believed the many stories of Hispanic influence could not fit into a seven-day span.
“Don’t you believe we ought to go from a week to a whole month?” Coronado asked friends. “We need to tell people our stories. America should know our contributions.”
The responses he received back from colleagues, family and friends was that they agreed – Hispanic Heritage Week should be Hispanic Heritage Month. But how?
The Texas native got to work. He sought the counsel of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He reached out to the leader of the Hispanic Caucus. He lobbied members of Congress.
Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, had become a good friend and wanted to help him in his endeavor. “He told me, ‘Let me help you with this,’” said Coronado of Hatch’s commitment.
The reception of this idea seemed to be okay at best.
“By and large it was received lukewarm,” Coronado said. “It was taking a long time.”
Several years later, in 1988, the time finally came for the chambers to begin taking their votes. The chair of the Hispanic Caucus called Coronado to make a formal presentation on the House floor that would change the law to make Hispanic Heritage Month a reality.
218 votes were needed to pass.
“When it started approaching 100 votes, to me it was unreal,” said Coronado. “I had never seen anything like it before. It’s like watching a science fiction movie. All of a sudden, it was rolling real quick. People started realizing this was going to pass and they wanted to be part of a winning team.”
He thought to himself that his actions were making a difference – and lawmakers wanted to be on the right side of history. All of a sudden, the votes skyrocketed and it passed.
“The power of one individual can change public law,” said Coronado. “That’s astounding. Now we can tell our stories.”
Coronado hails from San Antonio’s west side. His mother died when he was five and he worked to help his father provide for the family. As a Lanier high school student, he was encouraged to become a mechanic. He thought that he was destined to be more, and so he joined the Air Force. Soon, Coronado was off to officer candidate school.
“Nothing is impossible if you just take it a day at a time,” Coronado said firmly.
Credit: San Antonio Independent School District