Hispanic Heritage month kickoff ceremony
Thursday 15th Sep, 2016
Central Library
1 Lafayette Square Buffalo, NY 14203The official launch of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations will take place this year at the Buffalo & Erie County Library in downtown Buffalo on Thursday September 15, 2016. The ceremony will begin at 12pm in the library lobby and will host several community figures, guitar playing, performances, and presentations along with table displays of over twenty organizations servicing Buffalo’s community.
Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988.
September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.
Citizens of Hispanic decent have lived in the City of Buffalo and WNY area since the late 1800’s immigrating from countries such as Mexico, Cuba and regions in South and Central America and Caribbean including Puerto Rico.. This growing population has made significant contributions to the WNY area and continues to be a flourishing part of the community.
Events will be taking place around the Western New York Area to celebrate this month.
The Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York Inc. and the Buffalo and Erie County Library invite everyone to attend this event and celebrate Hispanic Heritage and Culture.
