Laurelwood Newsroom

Hispanic Heritage Month is an official celebration of American citizens whose ancestry can be traced back to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

The festival now lasts from September 15 to October 15 every year, but it first started out as just a week long celebration of in 1968. Twenty years later, in 1988 it expanded to dedicate a whole four weeks for the celebration of being Hispanic.

The celebration starts in the middle of the month, as opposed to the end, because the 15th marks the independence days of five Latin America countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile, and Belize follow shortly after, on the 16th, 18th and 21st.

Read more about this celebration at https://time.com/4943371/what-is-hispanic-heritage-month/