By: Anthony Mandato Spanish 1

 Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated world- wide from September 15 th to October 15 th  President Ronald Reagan was the one who came up with the idea to expand it to a 30 day celebration because it used to be called Hispanic Heritage Week in 1988  September 15 th was chosen as the starting point of the celebration to acknowledge the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicarauga

 Vicente Aleixandre ( ): A famous poet from Spain who mostly wrote about love, pain and separation.  Gabriela Mistral ( ): From Spain, received a Nobel Prize in literature for poetry that was loved because of it’s powerful emotion and real-life experiences

 Camilo José Cela ( ): Said to be the most charismatic writer and play director of the Spanish descent  Emilia Pardo Bazán ( ): She wrote books on controversy movements in Russia and France to make it well known to Spain

 Julia Alvarez (March 27th, 1950 –present): A famous poet, writer and novelist from New York but later moved to her parents home country, the Dominican Republic. There, she made her best books; How the Garcia Girls lost their accents, In the Time of the Butterflies and Yo!  Laura Restrepo (1950-present): From Bogota, Colombia wrote some well known novels, but is mostly recognized for her columns about politics

 Mario Vargus Llosa (March 28, 1936-present): A Peruvian-American writer and activist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature and is called “the most controversial Latin writer in history” because of the opinions and messages in his essays and notes  Oscar De La Hoya (February 4, 1973-present): A retired Mexican fighter. Said to be the “Muhammad Ali to the Latino race.” After retiring from a boxing record of 39-6 (the best record of any Latino boxer worldwide), he released a pop-album and a self- titled children’s book

 Yuri Morales (September 30, 1981-present): From San Juan, Puerto Rico; he is a player on the United States beach soccer team. He was the top scorer of 2010 leading with 35 goals. With that he received the title of the League’s MVP.  Emeraldo Santiago (May 17, 1948-present): A Puerto Rican author and former actress. The co-founder of CANTOMEDIA, which is a film and production company. Her columns and essays have appeared in national newspapers like House & Garden and Good Housekeeping. She was also the founder of a shelter for women who were physically abused

 Me: Hola Senora Hernandez.  Senora Hernandez: Hola. ¿qué es lo que necesita?  Me: I just need to ask you some questions about your background and National Hispanic Month  Senora Hernandez: Bien  Me: ¿De donde eres?  Senora Hernandez: Yo soy de Puerto Rico pero se crió en la ciudad de Jersey desde que tenía cinco  Me: ¿Qué edad tienes ahora?  Senora Hernandez: cincuenta y tres  Me: ¿Es usted el Miss Puerto Rico?

 Senora Hernandez: por supuesto. pero echo de menos a mi familia más  Me: What do you think about Hispanic Month?  Senora Hernandez: es una buena manera para que los latinos se reúnen y aprender sobre su cultura  Me: Do you celebrate it?  Senora Hernandez: por supuesto  Me: Who was your inspiration growing up?  Senora Hernandez: It wasn’t anyone of a Hispanic ethnicity. My inspiration was Muhammad Ali because he sent a message to every culture around the world  Me: Do you admire a family member?  Senora Hernandez: My mother because she did all she could to raise me and my five siblings.

 Me: Thank you for all of your time  Senora Hernandez: no hay problema

 The date of this interview was October 4 th, 2011  I learned about her past and her feelings concerning National Hispanic Month. I also learned about the troubles her family faced due to the amount of siblings and lack of money

 In Jersey City, there are a total of 107,438 people over the age of 17. Out of that number, 28.31% of the population is Hispanic

 1 st block (Language Arts III) there are about 22 people. A little over 20% are Hispanic  2 nd block (Biology) there are 20 people. About 35% are Hispanic  3 rd block (Accounting) there are 17 people. Over 50% are Hispanic  4 th block (Spanish 1) there are 18 people. Under 45% are Hispanic.