Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from us at VDA’s Angels & Village De Amor!
We are comprised of multicultural and multilingual individuals that have benefitted from those that have paved the way for us and we want to continue on that path of progress by making it better for the next generations of youth.
Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 – October 15 and celebrates the contributions of Hispanics throughout history. So, we want to take this opportunity to reflect on the successes and sacrifices of the Hispanic people that have come before us and use their stories as inspiration to continue their work.
We believe that people should have pride in their heritage and cultures in the American melting pot. People should not be undervalued or discounted for being different from one another, but should be able to express themselves and share their experiences with each other. So many lessons can be learned from the struggles of those that have come before us and actions that they’ve engaged in to secure us more freedoms and meaningful representations.
With an abundance of negativity around us at any given time, Hispanic Heritage Month serves as an optimal time to support the Hispanic community; entrepreneurs, creators, freethinkers, artists, scientists, doctors, lawyers, etc.
Thanks to the innovations and sacrifices made, there is a lesser stigma on being Latino or Hispanic in America. However, there is still an ever-present zeitgeist in other communities that don’t consider the positive impact that Latino and Hispanic people have made.
Hispanic Inventors & Innovators
Ellen Ochoa (Los Angeles, CA) First Hispanic woman to go to space in 1993, Johnson Space Center's first Hispanic Director & second female Director. She is also an inventor, Engineer, and recipient of NASA's highest award (Distinguished Service Medal).
Guillermo González Camarena (Guadalajara, Jalisco, México) Invented an adaptor to black & white TVs to show color as well as other innovations to color broadcasting.
Claudio Castillón Lévano (Perú) inventor of the Neonatal Artificial Bubble.
Luis E. Miramontes (Tepic, Nayarit, México) inventor of oral contraceptives.
artists
Pablo Picasso (Málaga, Spain) Painter, Sculptor, Theatre Designer, ceramicist, and Co-founder of the Cubist movement.
Frida Kahlo (Coyoacán, México City, México) painter known for her self-portraits and style that encapsulated topics of gender, identity, and perspective.
Salvador Dalí (Figueres, Catalonia, Spain) Painter Known for his portrayal of surrealism and mysticism.
Diego Rivera (Guanajuato City, México) Painter and innovator of the mural movement, also known for painting murals across México and the U.S.
José Clemente Orozco (Ciudad Guzmán, México) Painter and Caricaturist known for political murals and his attention to complexity, his work established the Méxican Mural Renaissance.
writers & poets
Miguel de Cervantes (Alcalá de Henares, Spain) Author Known for "Don Quixote" thought to be the first modern novel.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Aracataca, Colombia) Novelist, Journalist, Short-storyteller, Screenwriter and recipient of Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1972 and Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
Octavio Paz (México City, México) Poet and recipient of the Jerusalem Prize in 1977, the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1982, Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1982, and Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.
Isabel Allende (Lima, Peru) Known for "The House of the Spirits" American Academy of Arts and Letters inductee, and recipient of the National Literature Prize in 2010 as well as Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
Rudolfo Anaya (Pastura, NM) author and Storyteller known for "Bless Me Ultima" Thought to be a founder of contemporary Chicano literature.
Filmmakers/Producers/Writers
Andrés Muschietti (Vicente López, Buenos Aires, Argentina) Filmmaker known for his work on Mama and the 2017 adaptation of IT.
Guillermo del Toro (Guadalajara, México)Filmmaker, Director, Producer, Author, and Screenwriter known for his work on The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.
Bill Melendez (Hermosillo, Sonora, México & Arizona) Animator, Voice Actor, Producer, Director known for his work on Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Bambi.
George A. Romero (New York City, NY.) Filmmaker, Writer, Editor known for Dawn of the Dead, and Night of the Living Dead also known as a pioneer of the zombie film.
Robert Rodriguez (San Antonio, TX) Filmmaker known for creating cult films with miniscule budgets with works like From Dusk Till Dawn, El Mariachi, Sin City, and Spy Kids Franchise.
Actors
Sofia Vergara (Barranquilla, Colombia) Actor known best for her work on Modern Family and on Univision.
Javier Bardem (Las Palmas, Gran Canaria) Actor known for his critically acclaimed work on No Country for Old Men, Skyfall, and Dune. He is also an Academy Award Winner.
Penélope Cruz (Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain) Actor known for her work on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Vanilla Sky. She has also received many award nominations and been awarded an Academy Award and British Academy Film Award.
Antonio Banderas (Málaga, Andalusia, Spain) Actor, Director, Producer, and Singer known for his work on The Mask of Zorro, Desperado, Shrek, and Philadelphia. He has won a Cannes Best Actor Award and European Film Award for Best Actor as well as many other nominations.
Michelle Rodriguez (San Antonio, TX) Actor known for her work on Fast and Furious Franchise, Girlfight, and Avatar. She has won the Independent Spirit Award and a Gotham Award for Best Debut Performance.
Selena Gomez (Grand Prarie, TX) Singer, Producer, and Actor known on screen for her work on Only Murders in the Building, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Another Cinderella Story.
Notable for their contributions to the music industry
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (San Antonio, TX) Singer, Songwriter, Model, Actress, and Designer who received nine Tejano Music Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year before her untimely passing.
Carlos Santana (Autlán, Jalisco, México) Pioneer of Latin American Jazz & Rock 'n' Roll fusion guitar. Known for performing at Woodstock and winning 10 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards.
Shakira (Barranquilla, Colombia), Singer, Songwriter known as the "Queen of Latin Music" for her catchy pop songs and vocal versatility. She has won 3 Grammy Awards, 4 MTV Video Music Awards, 39 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and 7 Billboard Music Awards, as well as 6 Guinness World Records.
Carlos Chávez (México City, México) Conductor, Composer, Educator, Journalist, Music Theorist, and founder of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra.
Activists
Cesar Chavez (Yuma, AZ) Civil Rights Activist and Co-Founder of the National Farm Workers Association which became the United Farm Workers labor union. He fought for equality and labor rights through nonviolence.
Gloria Anzaldúa (Harlingen, TX) Author and Scholar of Chicana cultural theory, feminist theory, and queer theory. She is known for writing "Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza" about living on the border between differing identities.
Juan Felipe Herrera (Fowler, CA) Poet, Writer, Cartoonist, Teacher, and Activist who served as the United States Poet Laureate. He also won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award in 1997 for his contributions to art and culture.
Joan Baez (Staten Island, NY) Singer, Songwriter, Musician, and Activist known for her multilingual and multicultural music, singing in at least 8 different languages. She also fought for social justice through her songs.
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales (Denver, CO) Poet, Activist, Political Organizer, and Boxer known for fighting for Chicano political, social, and economic justice in the 1960's.
Sandra Cisneros (Chicago, IL) Writer and Activist who wrote about her experiences in cultural hybridity and with economic inequality. She has received several awards including the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and one of the Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowships for her work.
Those listed are of note for their major contributions to media and entertainment, medicine, and to public good, but there are many names not listed. They are names that you may already be familiar with, but there are likely some new ones. Regardless, they are the names of individuals whose work contributes to the world we live in today.
If their stories and motivations are an implication of anything, it is that people are complex, deriving strength from their hardships and differences. They are rarely identifiable as being purely an artist or purely Mexican, their work often intersects between other things and their identities are often also mixed.
We would encourage everyone to visit a Cultural Museum in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month to learn more about those that have done so much for us than we may realize and to better understand the culture whether or not you are Latino or Hispanic.
For the children in our care, we want to instill an appreciation for their culture and heritage through introducing them to elements of themselves that they may not know well and by allowing them to express themselves through it. This is by no means limited to Hispanic Heritage month or to Hispanic heritage as we will be doing something similar for other groups when the time comes.
VDA’s Angels and Village De Amor are proponents of justice and inclusivity and are well aware of the ongoing struggles that our youth may face in today’s world. We consider the needs of the youth and have deep respect for what they’ve already gone through. We aim to help them to use those experiences to understand themselves and the world better while encouraging them to transform into the optimal version of themselves. Ideally, their unique perspectives may enlighten them toward perpetuating a cycle of giving back.
It is through this journey of exploration that we can gain the perspective and appreciation to open our minds and illuminate the world around us.
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