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The Importance of Latinx Heritage Month
WHAT IS LATINX HERITAGE MONTH?
HISTORY
CULTURE
DIASPORA
RESISTANCE
Latinx Heritage Month in the United States, observed annually from September 15 through October 15, is rooted in histories of anticolonial struggle, Indigenous survival, and collective resistance across the Americas. It’s start date intentionally coincides with a cluster of Latin American independence anniversaries, shifting the celebration beyond cultural recognition to a commemoration of political rupture. These ruptures were movements that challenged, reconfigured, or formally rejected colonial rule.
First established as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, then expanded to a full month in 1988, Latinx Heritage Month reflects both hemispheric independence movements and ongoing struggles within the United States for racial justice, labor rights, language access, and liberty. It invites us to engage in Latinx history not as static heritage, but as a living archive shaped by colonization, resistance, migration, and diaspora.
Historic preservation in the United States has long privileged Spanish colonial architecture, missions, and settler landmarks as primary markers of “Latino” or “Hispanic” heritage. From mission preservation programs to heritage tourism initiatives, preservation frameworks have often centered European colonial presence while marginalizing Indigenous, Afro-Latinx, working class, and immigrant-built environments. This emphasis reinforces a narrow narrative in which Latinx history is made visible primarily through colonial structures rather than through lived landscapes, cultural practices, sites of resistance, and community memory.
In response, Latinos in Heritage Conservation situates itself to truly capture the multicultural presence of Latinx communities not only in the histories we preserve, but in the built environment itself. By centering community knowledge, advocating for inclusive preservation policy, and supporting heritage practitioners who challenge colonial frameworks, LHC works to expand what is recognized as historically significant and whose histories are made visible in the preservation field.
HISPANIC
VS.
LATINX:
LANGUAGE, POWER, AND SELF-IDENTIFICATION
The terms Hispanic and Latinx are often used interchangeably, but they carry different historical, political, and cultural meanings.
Hispanic emerged from U.S. federal classification systems in the 1970s and centers Spain and the Spanish language as defining features of identity. While widely used in government data, institutions, and media, the term Hispanic obscures Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and non- Spanish speaking histories, reproducing a colonial framework that privileges European lineage over lived experience.
By contrast, Latinx, alongside Latina, Latino, Latine, and other self-chosen identifiers, foregrounds geography, history, and community rather than colonial language alone. It refers broadly to people with origins in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Indigenous and Afro-Latinx communities whose identities are not rooted in Spanish heritage. The term emerged from grassroots, academic, and activist spaces to challenge gender binaries, expand visibility, and resist colonial naming practices.
At the same time, no single term can encompass the full diversity of Latin American and diasporic experiences. Preferences vary widely by generation, region, language, politics, and personal history. Respecting how individuals and communities name themselves is central to ethical heritage and archival practice.
At LHC, we use the term Latinx intentionally to:
At LHC, our language choices are inseparable from our broader history. We recognize that Indigenous nations are native to this land, that forced migration and enslavement reshaped these regions, and that layered cultural traditions emerged from both violence and resilience. We also honor the transnational solidarities that connected communities across borders and made liberation possible. Using Latinx reflects our commitment to naming identity in ways that acknowledge sovereignty, displacement, survival, and collective freedom rather than centering colonial inheritance alone.
Decenter Spain and colonial frameworks
Reflect current community driven language practices
Acknowledge Indigenous and Afro-descendant histories
Emphasize identity as lived, relational, and evolving
ANNIVERSARIES &
OFFICIAL INDEPENDENCE
DURING THIS PERIOD
November 18 – Haiti Battle of Vertières (1803)
The first postcolonial free state in Latin America
The island of Haiti observes The Battle of Vertières Day every November 18. Marking the final fight between the natives and the French army before Haiti gained freedom. Then on January 1, 1804 Haiti was proclaimed an independent republic, becoming the first independent slave-led republic in the world.
On December 28, 1815 Simon Bolivar visited Les Cayes, Haiti, seeking assistance from Alexander Petion, president of Haiti, in his quest to liberate Latin America from Spain colonial rule and its world order of slavery. Only Haiti came forward with arms, military strategy, troops and advice to continue the battle against the Spanish and win independence for the entire Latin America (4,000 guns, 15,000 pounds of powder, a press machine, three boats, food and soldiers).
The assistance from Haiti contributed to the defeat of the Spanish forces and the creation of the nation of Venezuela, and from there Bolivar went on to liberate the nations of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Bolivia, incorporated in the Gran Colombia of which he became president in 1821.
September 15 – Central American Independence (1821)
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
On September 15, 1821, representatives of the Captaincy General of Guatemala signed the Acta de Independencia de Centroamérica, formally declaring independence from Spanish colonial rule. While often framed as a peaceful transition, independence did not dismantle colonial hierarchies. Instead, power frequently shifted to criollo elites (those of Spanish lineage) while Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities remained marginalized.
This moment is critical for understanding the foundations of modern Central American states, the persistence of colonial governance structures, and the long arc of resistance movements that followed, particularly Indigenous struggles over land, sovereignty, and cultural survival.
September 16 – Mexican Independence Day (1810)
Mexican Independence Day commemorates September 16, 1810, when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued the Grito de Dolores, calling for rebellion against Spanish colonial authority.
The movement that followed was deeply shaped by Indigenous, mestizo, and Afro-Mexican participation, though post-independence narratives often erased their roles.
Mexican independence unfolded over more than a decade and was marked by insurgency, repression, negotiation, and competing political visions. For Mexican and Chicanx communities, the date resonates transnationally and shapes political identity, memory, and migration histories in the United States.
September 18 – Chilean Independence Process (1810)
Chile commemorates September 18, 1810, marking the formation of the First National Government Junta. Rather than a singular revolutionary break, Chilean independence was prolonged process involving internal conflict, class tensions, and competing visions of sovereignty.
Indigenous Mapuche resistance to colonial and later republican expansion complicates national narratives of independence, reminding us that liberation for some often coincided with dispossession for others.
September 7 – Brazil’s Independence (1822)
On September 7, 1822, Brazil declared independence from Portugal when Dom Pedro I issued the famous Grito do Ipiranga (“Cry of Ipiranga”), marking the end of Portuguese colonial rule and the beginning of the Brazilian Empire. Unlike many Latin American independence movements, Brazil’s transition was led by the Portuguese royal heir and preserved the existing monarchy, social hierarchies, and economic structures.
Independence did not immediately transform the lives of most Brazilians. Enslaved Africans and their descendants remained in bondage until 1888, and Indigenous communities continued to face displacement and violence. Understanding Brazil’s independence requires examining both its symbolic break from colonial rule and the enduring inequalities that shaped the nation’s formation and continue to influence its social and cultural landscape today.
September 21 – Belizean Independence (1981)
Belize’s independence on September 21, 1981, represents a later decolonization movement, shaped by British imperial withdraw, Cold War geopolitics, and territorial disputes with Guatemala. Independence emerged through sustained political organizing, labor movements, and negotiations rather than armed revolution.
Belize’s history challenges simplified timelines of Latin American independence and foregrounds Afro-Indigenous Caribbean experiences within Latinx and hemispheric histories.
October 12 – Día de la Raza / Indigenous Resistance / Anti-Colonial Memory
October 12, commonly known as Día de la Raza, marks the date of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, this date has been reinterpreted and renamed as Día de la Resistencia Indígena, Día de los Pueblos Originarios, or Día de la Descolonización, reflecting the critical rejections of colonial celebration.
Rather than honoring “discovery,” contemporary commemorations emphasize Indigenous survival, resistance, and the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism, genocide, and racial hierarchy. The shifting meanings of October 12 reveal how historical memory itself is a contested political terrain.
WHY THESE DATES MATTER
Taken collectively, these anniversaries situate Latinx Heritage Month within a broader history of colonialism, resistance, and unfinished liberation. Independence did not end exploitation, racial violence, or land dispossession, but created political openings that continue to shape the struggles of today.
Explore latin hISTORY resources:
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