National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, Independence Day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, all of which gained independence from Spain on this day. Mexico, the source of the largest group of Hispanic people in the states, celebrates Independence Day on the 16th of September, and Chile and Belize follow soon after. October 12th is traditionally Columbus Day, celebrating (or deriding) Spanish conquest in the Americas. October 12th is also celebrated as “’Día de la Raza” in some places, and as “Indigenous People’s Day” in others. October 15th is the end of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Last year, we were delighted to see that online resources for educators were finally including Puerto Rico in their Hispanic Heritage lesson plans.
Hispanic heritage in the United States
The United States is a largely English-speaking country, having grown from the British colonies in North America rather than the extensive North American holdings known as New Spain. However, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the U.S. People tracing their heritage back to Spain and Spain’s colonies now make up about 20% of the U.S. population.
By Abbasi786786 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Among Hispanic Americans, Puerto Ricans are the second largest group, just behind Mexican Americans. Chances are good that the increasing number off Puerto Ricans living in the states has helped to increase the inclusion of Puerto Rico in Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.
Among all Hispanics living in the states, speaking English at home has become more common and speaking Spanish at home has become less common.
Puerto Ricans who fear that statehood would lead to a loss of Spanish proficiency on the Island should recognize that leaving the Island has led to the decline in Spanish proficiency. Many Puerto Ricans leave Puerto Rico for the states because of the lack of opportunity caused by territory status. As a state, Puerto Rico could expect to gain rather than lose population, just as all the territories which have already become states have done.
Limited knowledge
Even though we are delighted to see an increase in the inclusion of Puerto Rico in Hispanic Heritage Month resources, we can’t lose sight of the fact that Puerto Rico typically doesn’t show up in ordinary U.S. history and geography lessons on the mainland. It’s often not shown on the map. In textbooks, mention of Puerto Rico is likely to be limited to the fact that Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States after the Spanish-American War, and this fact is usually mentioned in passing in a High School level discussion of American expansionism. Schools that observe Columbus Day hardly ever mention that Puerto Rico is the part of the United States that Christopher Columbus actually reached. Modern events in Puerto Rico, including the very important question of the Island’s political status, are simply not covered. Kids learning about the 50 states and their capitals never hear about the territories.
Shouldn’t there be discussions of the importance of Puerto Rico in the growth of the sugar industry, the acquisition of birthright citizenship in 1917, or the place of Puerto Rico and Operation Bootstrap in the Cold War? Shouldn’t books about Puerto Rico, written by Puerto Ricans, be part of ordinary reading lessons and classes in literature? Shouldn’t schools examine the fact that Puerto Rico has voted repeatedly to become a state and that Congress has not taken action, after more than a century?
What about your local school? They might be open to learning something about Puerto Rico during Hispanic Heritage Month this year. You might be able to help make that happen.
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