What is your heritage? What does it mean to you? Do Now What is your heritage? What does it mean to you?

Hispanic Heritage Month, whose roots go back to 1968, begins each year on September 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Columbus Day (Día de la Raza) is October 12. We recognize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate their heritage and culture.

The term Hispanic or Latino, refers to Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. On the 2010 Census form, people of Spanish, Hispanic and/or Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin." According to this Census, 50.5 million people or 16% of the population are of Hispanic or Latino origin. This represents a significant increase from 2000, which registered the Hispanic population at 35.3 million or 13% of the total U.S. population.

What do you think? Do you know who the top 10 most influential/powerful hispanics are, world-wide? List them and we will check if you are right.

#1 Pope Francis He will celebrate his first year in the pontificate on March 13 in a spiritual retreat. Argentine Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio became the highest ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic world a year ago this month. He is revolutionizing the Catholic Church and inspiring all faiths in the world.

# 2 Carlos Slim Forbes magazine ranked Mexican business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist Carlos Slim as the world’s second richest man ($72 Billion) in between Bill Gates and Amancio Ortega (Spain). Slim’s portfolio includes extensive holdings in several Mexican companies through Grupo Carso. Also, this Mexican billionaire is presently the chairman and chief executive officer of telecommunications companies Telmex and America Movil.

#3 Lionel Messi The Barcelona FC player is one of the best players at the moment according to experts on the subject. He is another Argentine, by the way. It seems that in this case the saying of, “nobody is prophet in his own land,” is fulfilled as his soccer alliance is with his team in Barcelona.

#4 Gabriela Isler To start speaking about what Latina women mean around the world, we chose to highlight the most beautiful woman in the world, the Venezuelan Gabriela Isler, Miss Universe 2013. This beauty queen is not limited to showing off her physical attributes as she’s committed to what is happening in her country and is aware that she has international influence through her title.

#5 Christina Figueres Costa Rican Christiana Figueres Olsen, is one of the most authoritative voices on climate change in the world. She has been the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is headquartered in Bonn (Germany), since 2010. Since her appointment, Figueres has insisted on the 2015 agreement, the year in which Governments around the world have pledged to sign a new international agreement to restrict the emission of greenhouse gases, and to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change.

#6 Sonia Sotomayor She well-known for being the third woman and first Hispanic appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where she has been an Associate Justice since August of 2009. “I have figured out how to stay happy in my world by understanding the power of love,” Sotomayor recently told a crowd of undergraduate and law students.

#7 Dilma Rousseff She is the current president of Brazil, and she’s one of the world’s most powerful women after leading her nation to possess the world’s seventh- largest national economy with a GDP of nearly $2.4 trillion.

#6 Michelle Bachelet She served as President of Chile from 2006-2010 and has reclaimed the position of presidency effective March 11, 2014 after being re-elected in December 2013 with over 62% of the vote. She is the first woman in her country to do so, plus the first person since 1932 to win the presidency twice in competitive elections.

#9 Jose Mujica He is a former guerrilla fighter in his country, has been President of Uruguay since 2010. He has been named as “the world’s ‘poorest’ president” due to his austere lifestyle and his decision to donate approximately 90 percent of his monthly salary to charities. This charismatic president has recently announced that Uruguay will host five Guantanamo prisoners for two years as requested by President Barack Obama.

#10 Mario Vargas Llosa Peruvian-Spanish writer of notoriety Mario Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America’s most significant novelists and essayists. Vargas Llosa is not only a writer but a politician, journalist, college professor, and winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. Some consider him to have a large international impact with his Literature and political opinion pieces, which are, much of the time, controversial opinions in Latin America.

Reflection How many did you get correct? What things were these people famous for? Why were they influential? Why are these figures less known than other famous hispanic figures like Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, etc.? How can we celebrate hispanic heritage month at AoIT? What can we do in the future to also celebrate other cultures here?