Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) – Tuesday night was the kickoff for Hispanic Heritage Month and about 2,000 people were on hand for a huge Fiesta Mexicana a the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque where the Shout for Independence or El Grito was commemorated. Wednesday September 16 is Mexico’s Independence Day. Many may not know that there are actually eight Spanish speaking countries that also celebrate their independence during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Hispanic Heritage Month ends on October 15 this year, and the 12th is now recognized as Indigenous Peoples Day. The month long celebrations in the United States began as a week-long celebration in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and was expanded to a full 30-day month in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan.
New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic or Latino residents of any state at approximately 49.4%. In Bernalillo County, Hispanic or Latino residents make up approximately 49.8% of the population as well as having the highest number of residents that consider themselves Hispanic or Latino at 330,770 followed by Doña Ana County with 152,201 or 67.9% Hispanic residents.
Santa Fe is the third largest with 74,740 Hispanic residents or about 47.9% of its population. The county with the highest percentage of Hispanics or Latinos is Guadalupe County with 76.6% followed closely by San Miguel County with 75.2%
There are 60 Hispanic or Latino Congressional Medal of Honor recipients https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/lists/hispanic-latino-recipients
For more information on celebrations visit the National Hispanic Cultural Center website at https://nhccnm.org/ or the National Museum of the American Latino at the Smithsonian https://latino.si.edu/
