The University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) observed Hispanic Heritage Month with several activities meant to celebrate Hispanic and Latinx Americans' diversity and cultures.
Established in 1988 and celebrated from Sept. 16 to Oct. 16, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the contributions to American by people originating in Hispania and Latin America.
Hispania includes Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Chile, Peru, and all Spanish speaking countries in Central and South America, while Latin America encompasses Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, and other countries whose official language is a Romantic language, an Oct. 6 UTPB blog post by Diana Ortiz said. Ortiz, International Student Services and Financial Literacy Program manager at UTPB and a first-generation Mexican American.
The Office of the Dean of Students, Student Veteran Service, Student Life and Campus Activities Board (CAB) headed the university's celebrations, as reported the blog post.
In September, the university partnered with Casa de Amigos, Midland College and the Leyva Law Firm to run a DACA informational online workshop.
For October, the university held a Hispanic Heritage Trivia Night, online Loteria, and honored Hispanic and Latino/a Veterans in the Dia de los Heroes event.
Hispanic Heritage Month has not been a popular celebration in El Paso, Ortiz wrote in the post. Ortiz cited El Paso's Mexican culture's ubiquity given its proximity to the Rio Grande as the main reason for this.
Ortiz herself was not aware of Hispanic Heritage Month until she entered college, but since then, she has recognized the celebration's value.
"Celebrating where one is from and expressing it while having others acknowledge it is the goal for this melting pot of a country that is the United States of America," Ortiz said in UTPB's blog post. "This month provides an opportunity for everyone to immerse themselves in the colors, taste, voices, music, and traditions of various individual cultures that have contributed and played an important role in this country."