The proclamation of an Anglo-Saxon president more than 50 years ago, wishing to honor a minority, was not an act of chance. That we are celebrated as an ethnic group in the most powerful nation in the world is a right acquired by the infinite contributions that we have made to the development of this country and that have kept it in its rightful place. This was recognized by President Johnson in 1968, and confirmed by Reagan in 1988, when he extended the celebration to a full month. Distinguishing ourselves through “Hispanic Heritage Month", is a reality that moves the vast majority of American society, when they see us with the "eyes of the soul" as the integral beings that we are, and that we contribute, with our capacity for honest work, to the growth of this great nation. .
Our role has been, and will be, within the cordiality of a clean proposal of coexistence, supremely important in the history and culture of the United States. We are considered a diverse community, made up of people of different ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds who share a common identity as Hispanics or Latinos.
Historically, we contributed significantly to the country's economy and culture. We have not attacked this nation, we helped win wars, serving with patriotism in its military forces with absolute radical detachment, carrying its flag to the highest peaks of victories. We have not torn down towers, we have built them with pride. We are influential in all fields! 63 million Hispanics in the United States, the largest ethnic or racial minority in the country; As an economy, our Latin GDP exceeds 3 billion dollars, and as an independent economy, we would be larger than the economies of the United Kingdom, France or India.
We have not needed the formality of an immigration status, the so-called "papers", to achieve what we have achieved and contributed. Despite the significant achievements and contributions of our community, Hispanics also face challenges in the United States, such as racism, lack of access to education, and discrimination in the labor market. Fortunately, there is more awareness of these issues and steps are being taken to address them.
Let us continue to celebrate the “Hispanic Heritage Month” As we deserve it, let us continue making our way taking the good paths that this society has offered us. Let us resume the fight that, with our honesty and work, leads us to continue demonstrating the reality of the PREPONDERING role as Hispanics in the development of this great nation. For the other "papers", Latin migratory history has shown us for centuries that, without yet possessing them, there they are, there they will be, perhaps, old, plasticized, kept in a box, while, exhausted and persecuted, we continue hugging each other like Americans by ability and merit, or, bravely eternal, as Hispanic citizens.
Oscar Arenas
Editor
