[ti:What is Hispanic Heritage Month?]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:01.96]Celebrations across the United States
[00:04.80]are taking place to mark
[00:07.04]National Hispanic Heritage Month.
[00:10.16]It is a yearly tradition that honors the diversity
[00:13.80]and culture of Hispanic people.
[00:17.80]The month-long period is a chance
[00:20.00]for many in the U.S. to learn about
[00:22.48]what Hispanics have given to American culture.
[00:26.20]It is celebrated each year
[00:28.16]from September 15 to October 15.
[00:32.24]The group includes people
[00:33.96]whose ancestors come from Spain,
[00:36.24]Mexico, the Caribbean
[00:38.84]and Central and South America.
[00:42.24]The latest census estimates
[00:44.24]there are more than 65 million people
[00:47.52]identified as ethnically Hispanic in the U.S.
[00:52.28]Before there was National Hispanic Heritage Month,
[00:55.40]there was Hispanic Heritage Week.
[00:58.80]President Lyndon B. Johnson
[01:01.12]signed the law in 1968.
[01:04.64]The U.S. Library of Congress
[01:06.72]says every president since Johnson
[01:09.68]has issued a proclamation
[01:11.28]for National Hispanic Heritage Month.
[01:14.60]On September 13, President Joe Biden
[01:17.68]issued a proclamation recognizing September 15
[01:21.72]through October 15,
[01:23.36]as National Hispanic Heritage Month.
[01:26.96]Rachel Gonzalez-Martin
[01:28.88]is an associate professor
[01:30.72]of Mexican American and Latino Studies
[01:34.08]at the University of Texas at Austin.
[01:37.76]She said the celebration has grown over the past 10 years
[01:41.80]because of the larger number of Latinos in the U.S.
[01:46.08]She noted that Hispanic Heritage Month
[01:48.68]was an official recognition of belonging
[01:51.68]"that became really powerful."
[01:54.80]September 15 is the date when some
[01:57.56]Latin American countries
[01:59.16]mark their independence days.
[02:02.20]The Central American nations of Guatemala,
[02:04.92]Honduras, El Salvador,
[02:07.60]Nicaragua, and Costa Rica
[02:10.28]celebrate their independence on September 15.
[02:15.52]Mexico marks its national day on September 16.
[02:20.44]Also, during National Hispanic Heritage Month,
[02:24.00]the South American nation of Chile
[02:26.64]observes its independence day on September 18.
[02:31.16]Alberto Lammers is director of communications
[02:35.48]at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.
[02:41.12]He said, "It became a chance
[02:43.24]for people to know Hispanic cultures,
[02:45.68]for Latinos to get to know a community better
[02:49.08]and for the American public to understand a little better
[02:53.32]the long history of Latinos in the U.S."
[02:57.08]Lammers said the four-week period
[02:59.92]is about honoring the way Hispanic populations
[03:03.24]have shaped the U.S. in the past and present.
[03:07.36]"It gives us a chance to acknowledge
[03:09.44]how Latinos have been part of this nation
[03:11.88]for so many centuries," Lammers said.
[03:15.92]"I think that's what is great about this.
[03:18.76]It has allowed us to really dig deeper
[03:21.40]and a chance to tell our stories."
[03:24.92]Hispanic is a pre-existing term
[03:27.64]the federal government began using in the 1970s
[03:31.52]for people whose ancestors came
[03:33.48]from Spanish-speaking cultures.
[03:36.36]But some people do not like the term "Hispanic."
[03:40.04]They use other terms like "Latino" or "Latinx"
[03:44.00]which mean different things to different groups.
[03:47.92]Events marking National Hispanic Heritage Month
[03:51.48]are planned in places from California to New York.
[03:54.84]I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM