Traditions + Culture

Hispanic Heritage Month was created to honor the many contributions made by Latinos in our country.  It was a no-brainer, then, for us to recognize José Luis Orozco, a man who for 39 years now has been relentlessly focused on preserving our rich cultural identity through songs and music for children, while at the same time exposing a wider audience to the heritage of the Spanish-speaking world. His name is very familiar and well-respected amongs educators, especially with bilingual (Spanish/English)Read More ...

Today is the first day of a month-long celebration of anything and everything Hispanic, or Latino, as we like to call ourselves. Over 20 years ago, then President Ronald Reagan enacted into law Hispanic Heritage Month, a 30-day period which starts on September 15th and ends on October 15th to recognize the contributions of Hispanics in this country. Today, September 15th, has always been a fiesta day in my calendar since my second home-El Salvador- celebrates the anniversary of itsRead More ...

Twelve years seems like a very long time. That’s how much time has to pass before my daughter, Vanessa, turns 15. But because of some pretty huge contest in which the winner could get a party package worth $45,000 for the Quinceañera of her dreams–don’t worry, I’ll share all the details below–I’ve been thinking about this rite of passage tradition and all its implications. I did not celebrate my 15th birthday with what is commonly known in the Latino communityRead More ...

I grew up in El Salvador going to Piñatas, not fiestas de cumpleaños, but Piñatas. If you guessed that the smacking of the hanging toy was the main attraction, you’re right. The thing is I don’t remember ever having fun when it was my turn to grab the stick and hit the swinging piñata. I never felt tall enough, strong enough, or maybe I simply was never interested enough. I was reminded about this feeling of childhood inadequacy last weekRead More ...

I absolutely love summer…for a lot of reasons, but mainly because my daughter is a summer baby which means we get to celebrate her cumpleaños outdoors in the melting heat (as opposed to indoors hiding from the snow.) In fact, both Vanessa and Camila were born pretty much in the middle of the summer, so both Ana and I will be celebrating their birthdays pretty soon. This got me thinking about a little tradition we have at our house regardingRead More ...

I love going back home for a lot of the obvious reasons, but also because, as an avid reader, it gives me a chance to stock up on books in Spanish. Now that I’m a mami, I’ve added children’s books to my list. The selection tends to be much more varied than back in the States–especially now that we live in Colorado! I know there’s always the option of getting books online, but there’s nothing better–for me, at least–than toRead More ...

I recently went through my running list of possible names for our second child – to be born in September – with my husband. I’m sad to report it didn’t go very well – although I was not surprised. He didn’t really like most of them. So we’re kind of back to to square one. For some – especially within the Latino population, naming their child might not be a very difficult task for they have no problem choosing theRead More ...

You have no idea how touchy my Chilango (i.e. Mexico City born and raised) husband got when I told him I wanted the three of us to actually celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year. Why would a Mexican not want to celebrate a Mexican holiday? Well, because this is a holiday that, truth be told, has become very commercial – like most every other holiday – and, thus, has lost it’s true meaning. Aside from the fact that this isn’tRead More ...