Each year, National Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15th – the day five different Latin American countries celebrate their independence. Here at Columbia, the celebrations began September 29th, with the Latino Heritage Month Opening Ceremony.

Isaac Lara, the Co-Chair for the Latino Heritage Month Committee, described the theme of Latino Heritage Month as “‘Es Pa’ Lante Que Vamos,’ which loosely translates to ‘We Move Forward.’ This October let’s celebrate our community’s accomplishments and rejoice in our successes but let’s also understand that’s there’s more work to be done.�

Though the speakers acknowledged the valuable contributions of current Hispanic figures, such as Hilda Solis and Mark Sanchez, an equal emphasis was put on Hispanic pioneers such as Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez and Juan Gomez.

“Latino Awareness Month is about celebrating the achievements that our community has made throughout American history,� reaffirmed Isaac Lara.

The keynote speaker at the event was Al Alvarez, Deputy Chief of Staff for New Jersey’s Governor Corzine. He reiterated the value of the Hispanic heritage, as well as the importance “that during this month we reflect and honor those contributions and we recognize that there has been a tremendous amount of work; none of this happened over night, none of these tremendous successes have happened in isolation.�

A recurring topic throughout the night was the recent confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Mr. Alvarez encapsulated the value of her selection to the Hispanic community: “President Obama’s election was a game-changer for youth across the board for minorities, particularly for African-Americans but also for all minorities. I think Sonia Sotomayor’s elevation to the Supreme Court is the same thing for Latinos. It’s an opportunity to say, ‘Yes, you can be a Supreme Court Justice if you’re a Latino or Latina, you can be at the highest rungs of our Constitution.’�

Despite Justice Sotomayor’s prominence, the speakers at the ceremony agreed that there is still much work left to be done. Mr. Alvarez maintains that “it’s an important time and opportunity for everyone to recognize the tremendous contributions that are being made every day in the United States of America by Latino-Americans, and it’s hopefully an opportunity for us to showcase our talent and our capacity to non-Latinos.�

Meanwhile, Mr. Lara also admits that there is a need for “more awareness,� highlighting the significance of Latino Heritage Month.

“You know, I think part of the reason is because our community is so fragmented into different cultures…I think it’s great right now in the university, but I think that there could be a lot more of a presence of Latinos taking part in Columbia.�