Hispanic Heritage Month 2022

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 |

HISPANIC

HERITAGE MONTH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

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JAKE BACON, ARIZONA DAILY SUN

September 15 - October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month

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ispanic Heritage Month began on Thursday September 15, and throughout the nation, Americans are celebrating the rich Latine culture that has, for centuries, informed our values and ideals.

Flagstaff in particular has a lot to observe and celebrate this month because in many ways, Latine families helped to build and cultivate this town, and despite their underappreciated work and poor treatment, these families built foundations for generations not even dreamed of.

They were lumberjacks, railroad workers and sheep herders. They lived in company towns with limited water and electricity. They owned shops, grocery stores and restaurants and built cultural landmarks that have since been erased by gentrification in the name of renewal, and in the face of all this, our Latine community continued.

They continued working. They continued serving.

They continued loving and promoting the traditions left for them by their ancestors, and every day, Flagstaffians should be grateful to have such an active and artistic community contributing to the growth and identity of this northern Arizona town.

Though we take the time to celebrate Latine heritage this month, we should constantly work towards making months like these an unnecessary yet important reminder that the inclusion and promotion of diverse cultures and heritages is essential to creating the America that we hope to be.

So, while you’re out this month, make a substantial effort to step out of your bubble, learn more about Latine heritage and experience all that this Flagstaff community has to offer.

With this special section, the Arizona Daily Sun celebrates Northern Arizona’s Latine community.

JAKE BACON, ARIZONA DAILY SUN

Chapala perform for Lupe Gil Anaya during a family celebration for her 100th birthday at the family home in Baderville.

INSIDE

Page 2: Why Hispanic Heritage Month starts in the middle of September Page 3: Spanish for Spanish Speakers program continues at Coconino High School

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| Sunday, September 25, 2022

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH 2022

ARIZONA DAILY SUN

DANIEL LLOYD BLUNK FERNANDEZ

Why Hispanic Heritage Month starts

in the middle of September Observing Hispanic Heritage Month

DAKIN ANDONE, CNN

National Hispanic Heritage Month began last Thursday and will run through Oct. 15, giving the United States an opportunity to recognize and celebrate members of our communities and their ancestors who hail from Mexico, parts of the Caribbean, Central and South America and Spain.

“The Latino community and Latino history is a fundamental part of American history,” said Emily Key, director of education at the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“And recognizing that and understanding that are key reasons why this month is important.”

Here’s why America commemorates Hispanic Heritage Month and what you should know about it.

The history

Rather than starting at the beginning of September, Hispanic Heritage Month takes place over 30 days starting on the 15th — a nod to the anniversaries of national independence for a number of Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua all recognize Sept. 15 as the date of their independence, while Mexico’s independence is celebrated Sept. 16 and Chile celebrates its independence Sept. 18.

Hispanic Heritage Month traces its history to 1968, when the observance was just a week long. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill designating the week of Sept.

15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Week,” according to the Office of the Historian and the Office of Art & Archives for the U.S. House of Representatives.

In the inaugural proclamation, he wrote of the “great contribution to our national heritage made by our people of Hispanic descent — not only in the fields of culture, business, and science, but also through their valor in battle.”

“That was a period for sure, when Chicanos in the Southwest, Mexican Americans, Latinos across the country were demanding greater inclusion and representation politically, culturally, socially, economically — everything,” said Geraldo Cadava, professor of history and Latina and Latino Studies at Northwestern University and author of “The Hispanic Republican.”

“It was a demand for greater inclusion and representation and acknowledgment that Latinos play an important role in the

SVEA CONRAD

priscilla Hall holds her 12-year-old chihuahua, machaca, at the Flagstaff Community market.

United States,” he said.

It wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that Hispanic Heritage Week was lengthened to an entire month under President Ronald Reagan.

Rep. Esteban Torres of California had submitted a bill to expand it, saying in remarks at the time, “We want the public to know that we share a legacy with the rest of the country, a legacy that includes artists, writers, Olympic champions, and leaders in business, government, cinema, and science.”

Torres’ bill died in committee, but Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois submitted a similar bill that Reagan signed into law.

The contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to the United States are long and storied: Key pointed out that the first known colony in America was not Jamestown, but the Spanish colony of St. Augustine in Florida.

“Hispanics or Latinos ... have fought in every war since the American Revolution,” she said. “They are business owners and veterans and teachers and public servants.”

She added, “Latinos are Americans, and they form part of this American fabric.”

A growing population

But Hispanic Heritage Month is a chance for the country to acknowledge not only the rich history of its diverse Hispanic

communities, but who they are today, said Felix Sanchez, chairman of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.

“Hispanic Heritage Month gives us an opportunity to update the American people as to who Latinos are today,” he said, “to provide a contemporary context for all of our communities that are very different, that are part of the Latino ecosystem.”

Part of that contemporary context is the fact that Hispanics and Latinos make up an increasing portion of the overall U.S. population.

The 2020 U.S. Census showed that Hispanics and Latinos make up a fast-growing, multiracial group: In 2020, 62.1 million people identified as Hispanic or Latino — 18% of the U.S. population.

That number had grown 23% since 2010.

Comparatively, the U.S. population not of Hispanic or Latino origin grew just 4.3%, census data shows.

Between 2010 and 2020, just over half of the total U.S. population growth — 51.1% — was due to growth among Hispanics or Latinos, per the Census Bureau.

This growth is just another reason why Hispanic Heritage Month is important, Key said. “If you’re 18% or so of the population, then you should also have representation, and we should celebrate and understand these communities that make up a large portion of the country’s population.”

There are lots of ways to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month, whether it’s engaging with books, films, documentaries — suggestions from Cadava include PBS’ documentary series on Latino America or the podcast “Latino USA” — or live programming related to Hispanics and Latinos and their history in the United States.

“If that means in your local community, going to a Mexican Independence parade, of which there are many across the country, you should do that,” he said.

Alternatively, museums like the Smithsonian have events and online learning resources for families to use as guided learning on Latinos and their communities, including profiles of Latino patriots in military history. People can also visit local museums, she said, that have Latino content and collections.

Or you can just speak with people in your neighborhood, Key said. “Talk to a friend, talk to a classmate, talk to a neighbor, talk to your grocer, or your local restaurant where you get your favorite tacos,” she said.

“People like to share about their culture and their communities. ... Learn about who they are and why they are in the neighborhoods they’re in, and discover that we probably share more in common than we think.”

It’s important to note, experts said, that you can recognize and acknowledge that heritage at all times of the year, outside of the 30-day period between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. Hispanic Heritage Month is a “month of introduction” or an “entry point,” Key said, to learn more about your neighbors, classmates and colleagues and their heritage.

“Ideally, Hispanic Heritage Month would be unnecessary,” Cadava said, adding, “Do you need a month that is essentially American History Month, when Latino heritage, Hispanic heritage and American heritage meant the same thing?”

Sanchez echoed that, telling CNN, “Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity for both the Latino community to reinforce its accomplishments but also to extend beyond the Latino community, to remind all Americans that we are American.”

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ARIZONA DAILY SUN

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH 2022

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 |

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RACHEL GIBBONS, ARIZONA DAILY SUN

Karen Molina reads her book during Spanish class at Coconino High School. Students in the class spend the first five minutes of the period reading from a book of their choice that’s written in Spanish.

ABIGAIL KESSLER

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Sun Staff Reporter

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oconinoHighSchool’s (CHS) Spanish for Spanish Speakers program has its first full set of classes in its second year, with plans to expand to Flagstaff High School (FHS) next year.

Taught by Francy Solarte at CHS and Kellen Brandel at FHS, the two-year course focuses on the needs of learners who are already fluent in spoken Spanish.

Students in fitting the category are also known as heritage speakers — students who have proficiency in a language because it is spoken at home.

In 2022, Solarte said, CHS had a 33.5% Hispanic student population.

Solarte began teaching at CHS in 2017 after completing a master of arts in Teaching Spanish Education at Northern Arizona University. She noticed that her introductory Spanish classes often also included students with a higher fluency.

“I started to get to know my students and all my classes at the school, and then I noticed that, ‘Hey, what is going on? We have these Spanish classes with Spanish speakers, students that already speak Spanish in regular classes when they are not with second-language learners.’”

Brandel said he’d seen similar situations in his classroom and that it can affect student motivation and connection to the class material.

“Many students who grow up listening [to] and speaking Spanish at home have an incredible breadth of knowledge and experience, but their linguistic needs aren’t being met in a Spanish as a second-language class,” he said.

CHS student Carmen Hernandez said she grew up with two languages surrounding her, because her parents and grandparents spoke Spanish with her.

She speaks both languages at home and work, and said, “I understand Spanish completely, but there are some words that I don’t always know.”

“Now that I have this class,” she said, “I actually feel like I am learning things instead of relearning the language I already know. ...I personally prefer this because I can learn about culture and what kind of differences there are.”

Flagstaff Unified School District students have had options for more in-depth Spanish education at earlier grade levels through dual-language programs at Puente de Hozho Elementary and Sinagua Middle School. Once students reached high school, however, there wasn’t an equivalent program and they would end up in classes like Spanish One, relearning color names and how to say hello.

“That was something missing there, because the students… come here and they say, ‘There is not a class for me that meets my needs. There is not a class that’s similar that I was receiving between elementary and middle school,’” Solarte said. “So for me, that was like, ‘OK, we need to fix this. We need to do something.’”

GETTING ON THE

SAME PAGE Spanish for Spanish Speakers continues at Coconino High

He added: “Ultimately, I hope that it provides [students] a sense of pride for their heritage language and a space where they belong.”

Heritage language learners have different needs to students taking a high school class to learn Spanish for the first time. They are often fluent in spoken Spanish, for example, so the class focuses on reading and writing and “topics of identity and culture,” Brandel said.

CHS student Ivan Zaldivar described the program as “using the language of Spanish and doing interesting work with it.”

Spanish is his parents’ first language, and he says the course helps him communicate with them in addition to building language skills.

“I am able to improve my reading and writing in Spanish, and now I speak more clearly in Spanish,” he said. “A few years ago, I wasn’t really that good at Spanish.”

Turning a page

RACHEL GIBBONS, ARIZONA DAILY SUN

Francy Solarte, Spanish teacher at Coconino High School, gives students guidance during group work researching options for life after high school.

“Ultimately, I hope that it provides [students] a sense of pride for their heritage language and a space where they belong.”

— Kellen Brandel She created a proposal for a two-year program for CHS freshmen and sophomores, with the idea that certain students would continue to the school’s International Baccalaureate program (which also started in 2020) for their final two years of language learning. Though it is not a continuation of the earlier program, it is a way to continue to meet these students needs and develop their abilities.

“It’s like a true immersion-style class. There’s probably zero English spoken,” FUSD language acquisition specialist Jessica Sargent said of the classes, both of which meet for 55 minutes daily. “We’re hoping that by giving them these first two years in a heritage speaker class or Spanish for Spanish speakers that they

RACHEL GIBBONS, ARIZONA DAILY SUN

Janneza Moreno and Cristopher Sillas-Ramirez use iPads during group work session, researching options for life after high school during Spanish class at Coconino High School. are encouraged then or they are motivated and they feel a sense of community in this program.”

Solarte said her motto for the course is “bilingual, bicultural and successful.”

The first class began in the fall of 2020, when FUSD was still in remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Solarte and Sargent noted that the school’s administration was supportive of the class, helping get it approved and purchase books as it continued.

The program is expected to come to FHS next year, with Brandel as the instructor.

He attended the same master’s program as Solarte, and they are both mentored by Yuly Ascención Delaney, its co-coordinator.

“To bring in a Spanish Heritage Language Program is to flip the classroom and center it on these students’ lived experiences,” Brandel said.“Instead of teaching the structures of the language, the language is used to talk about how we ourselves are structured.”

The classroom has an expanding library of Spanish-language literature in a variety of genres and skill levels and the class often begins with a dedicated reading period.

The books are intended to be easy to read and of high interest to draw students in and keep them reading.

As an example, Solarte described finding soccer biographies after noticing the sport’s popularity among her students.

“When I brought the books, they were like fighting for the books,” she said. “...I was so excited to see that.”

Solarte’s hope is to keep adding books to the class library, mentioning a grant she hopes to secure.

“I wanted to have books in the classroom,” she said.“Reading is a big part of language learning, in all the classes, not only for this class. ...They are excited because they never read a novel in Spanish. It’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can do this.’ ‘Yes, you can. At your level, I have something for you…’ The plan is to grow this library here.

And I’m happy because I know the books are being read here…I can guarantee that they are reading and that’s one of the best ways to acquire new vocab, improve your writing.”

Reading also builds language confidence, Sargent said. “[Reading] builds vocabulary and it helps them for writing because they see how these structures look,” she said. “…It’s part of the language acquisition period. But I think the biggest thing about this too is the confidence that the readers get and to feel successful reading.”

The plan is to continue meeting students’ needs.

“This is growing right now,” Solarte said, referencing workshops and college programs focused on teaching heritage speakers as well as the FHS program.

“And I’m happy because this was something like …everybody goes to Spanish One. But we have this community of students that they need this.”

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| Sunday, September 25, 2022

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