Kylie McGovern, Editor 

Hispanic History Month at La Salle began on Sept. 15 and will continue until Oct. 15. This month was created in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover 30 days starting on Sep. 15 and ending on Oct. 15 to celebrate histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The celebration begins on Sept. 15 because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Additionally, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18. 

La Salle is celebrating Hispanic History Month at the Connelly Library with La Salle Special Collections and University Archives that relate to Hispanic students and the Christian Brothers’ presence in South and Central America. In addition, La Salle’s Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) has been hosting various events to celebrate. On Sept. 22 OLAS hosted Millennial Loteria on the Hansen quad with games and prizes. In addition, on Sept. 29 Treetops Cafe had an assortment of Hispanic foods for dinner. 

Plenty of businesses and organizations in Philadelphia are also celebrating Hispanic History Month. The Puerto Rican Day Parade occurred on Sept. 25 and youth groups, community organizations, schools, corporate sponsors, and popular artists gathered on the Benjamin Franklin parkway. Many of these events are free including the Puerto Rican Day Parade and Bachata dance classes by Controlla Dance Academy to learn a social Dominican dance at Frankford’s Pause Park. In addition to free events in Philadelphia, Club 90s is hosting a Bad Bunny-themed dance party to celebrate the Puerto Rican rapper. 

Dine Latino Restaurant Week ran from Sept. 19-23, 2022, at over twenty establishments. This week is designed to drum up business at Latino-owned restaurants in Philadelphia. Edward Garcia, owner of Queen and Rook Game Cafe, a board game cafe with a full restaurant, a full bar, and a full retail game and puzzle store explained to 6 ABC “a lot of our small businesses don’t have the marketing budgets of chains or even restaurant groups, so getting people to find out how amazing this food is how amazing the experiences are at these Hispanic-owned businesses is really great and really important.” Both La Salle University and the City of Philadelphia will continue to celebrate Hispanic History Month with extraordinary events through Oct. 15.