“Spanish” or “Hispanic” Heritage Month? The answer without the cringe!

We are in our favorite month of the year… the one that celebrates our people! Hispanic, Latino, Latine, Latinx… there are many labels lately. Is “Spanish” one of the acceptable ones? Not really, and this is why:

According to the Census each year, National Hispanic Heritage Month goes from September 15 to October 15, celebrating the history, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

So it’s a bit tricky because technically the term “Spanish” would refer only to the people from the country of Spain, but since it also means the language spoken in the majority of the Latin countries, it could be called that too. I personally prefer the term “Hispanic” as opposed to “Spanish” since “Hispanic” is specific to all Spanish-speaking countries in both Latin America and Spain. But if you chose to say “Spanish Heritage Month” you won’t be wrong either! You may get corrected by a few people, or if you put it in Google.

“The Spanish language is the main cultural element shared by Hispanic peoples” – Wikipedia

If you are choosing to describe yourself as Hispanic, you’d have great reasoning for it if you have ancestry from a Spanish-speaking country or some link back to Spain or Portugal. Again, if someone corrects you, they’re probably being rude and telling you who to be, so don’t mind that one bit.