16 Sep – Latinx Heritage Month –

Hispanic heritage month has begun and here at Make the Road NV, we have decided to elevate and celebrate every aspect of our heritage by making it Latinx Heritage month; the definition of Hispanic is “relating to Spain or to Spanish-speaking countries” purposely leaving out many indigenous people in Latin America that never spoke Spanish. As a step toward inclusion, we have included all our Latino/a/x brothers, sisters, transgenders, and gender-nonconforming kin into the celebration. We are brown, we are proud, and we are familia. For the duration of the month from September 15th and through October 15th, we will be sharing our stories and celebrating our roots where power and beauty were first instilled in our hearts. We hope you join us on this journey of learning to embrace, love, share and explore our heritage as it holds many beauties in the forms of art, music, poetry, clothes, food, and life.

We are a collection of the stories waiting to be heard, and now we have the responsibility to those who will come after us to tell those stories. 

– Who we are –

We are AfroLatinx people whose roots lie in a land that has influenced many other cultures. We are the people of music, art, and family that stretches to every part of the planet. We are la gente del mundo, the sun-kissed children. 

We are indigenous people who remember the days when the sun came over the horizon. We sang the first songs and painted the first sunsets. Our people cultivated the land and shared its fruits with those who came from across the waters. We held this land and gave birth to a new people, a new life, a new beginning. We are proud to be.

We are proud to have seen and to share the tales of when the stars took their places.  

We are a beautiful collection of the power of unity but we must not let ourselves be divided by old ways of thinking, colorism, homophobia, transphobia, and machismo weaken our strength. Rhetoric like ‘mejorar la raza’ damage the self-image and must STOP. Unknowingly, we have accepted and participated in colorism with assigning nicknames to our families and friends that describe their color. ‘prieto/a’, ‘guero/a’, ‘indio/a’, moreno/a’, etc… these names and these ideas of one tone being superior or preferred to the other are what inhibit our communities from being truly united. This Latinx Heritage Month we want to begin the work to break down these damaging views so that future generations of Latinx folks are treated with dignity and respect. 

In the US, many of us found the borders move around us, while others had to sacrifice their lives from all parts of Latin America to cross harsh terrain and endure discrimination to provide a better life for their families. We are survivors. We work from the fields to your own homes, to the kitchens of your favorite restaurants. We withstand hate and xenophobic rhetoric because we want a better life and future for our families that are filled with opportunity and life filled with dignity and respect. Our culture is in our blood and home is where we plant our roots in. We’re immigrant strong and we’re here to stay.

We invite you to join us as we explore every section of our heritage. All are seen, everyone is included, all are wanted and all are needed. We are all part of the story of our familia. We are continuing the traditions of our roots. We are unified with our brothers and sisters contributing to the many colors and branches of our family tree. Our beginnings are bloody, but our future has never been brighter. Our contribution to the global society has never been bigger. We are la gente unida, we remain a pueblo true to its roots. Welcome to Latinx Heritage Month.

Follow our Instagram during Latinx Heritage Month to see our DACAmented member leaders share their day during our Wednesdays IG Story TAKEOVERS! Make sure to check out our Social Media for important information and upcoming event details.