In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson approved of Hispanic Heritage Month. Then in 1988, President Ronald Reagan expanded awareness to Hispanic Heritage Month. As a result, it became a 30-day period, from Sept 15 to Oct 15. Sept 15 is a significant anniversary of independence for Latin American countries El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence, but on Sept 16 through the 18.

What is Venice doing for Hispanic Heritage Month? MEChA will be hosting a festive party on the junior lawn, so bring your dancing shoes and get ready to dance on Oct 13 during lunch! They will be honoring all Latino cultures by having different cultural music and food.

Some people think that Mexicans are the only Latinos around. Latinos don’t only come from Mexico, they come form Central and South America as well. Latinos don’t all look alike. They have many different features, brown skin, olive skin, and tanned skin, as well as straight, wavy and curly hair. Their heritage is deep with many mixtures of ethnicities.