It's National Hispanic Heritage Month!
Hispanic Heritage Month is the period when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture.
At first, when I found out that it was Sept 15 - Oct 15, I thought, WTF? We can't get an actual month? They gotta go ghetto and only give us half of 2 months?
But then I did some research, and apparently, September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18 and September 21, respectively.
OK - fair enough.
In honor of this celebratory time, here is a video from an amazing Hispanic American - Tito Puente.
Tito Puente, a Puerto Rican American from Spanish Harlem, is internationally recognized for his enormous and significant contributions to Latin music as a bandleader, composer, arranger, percussionist, and mentor. Popularly known as the “El Rey del Timbal” and the “King of Mambo”, he recorded more than 100 albums, published more than 400 compositions, and won five Grammy awards.
Check out this video of him jamming out in the South Bronx in the 1970s...amazing!
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