Summer fun is in full swing, with baseball games and plenty of sunshine for the garden. Looking ahead to September, National Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15. Kick off the celebration by making decorations to leave up for the month and enjoy a festive atmosphere while your community experiences the sights, sounds, and flavors of countries such as Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, and their rich cultural history.
World Letter Writing Day (September 1): Provide pens, stationery, envelopes and stamps. Help your group find mailing addresses for loved ones like siblings, children, grandchildren, friends or fellow community members and host a letter writing session for your group to write letters to their loved ones. Let those who want to share their letters read them aloud to the group. Ensure letters are addressed and stamped before giving them to the post office.
National Cheese Pizza Day (September 5): Give a short presentation about the history of pizza and how to make it. Tasting History has a great short video you can use. Then, have a pizza tasting and let your group rank their favorites. Get a few styles of cheese pizza such as New York-style, Chicago-style, Detroit-style, or Connecticut “apizza,” or compare thick vs thin crust from your favorite local pizza shops. Have everyone try the different kinds and hold a vote for their favorite. Why did they like their favorites? What kind of pizza do they prefer? Any special toppings? What was their favorite pizza place in their youth?
International Day of Democracy (September 15): Invite candidates running for local elections (e.g., mayor, city council, school board, judge, etc.) to visit and meet your residents. Discuss issues affecting your local community and your residents in particular. Hold a voter registration drive to ensure residents who wish to vote are registered.
Star Trek Day (September 8): This year marks the 60th anniversary of the television show Star Trek, which first premiered on September 8, 1966. Screen an episode or two of this classic American science fiction series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Fan favorites include “The City on the Edge of Forever” and “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.” You can watch them for free on Pluto TV with ads or with a Paramount+ subscription. Ask your group if they have memories of watching the show when it first aired in the 1960s or when it grew in popularity in reruns in the 1970s or if their children enjoyed the show. When they approach situations and solve problems, do they relate more to Captain Kirk’s spontaneous craftiness or Mr. Spock’s focused, deliberate logic?
Kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with a Hispanic crafting session: Papel picado (“punched” paper) is a traditional folk art found throughout Mexico and the United States where strings of paper are hung as banners during Day of the Dead and many other festivals. Have your group make papel picado to decorate your community room or the halls. The Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin has a good PowerPoint presentation with the history of this art form and instructions for your community members to follow. Ask your group about what home decorations were unique to their cultures. Did they make them or purchase them? What were the stories behind the traditions?
Learn about Hispanic dance culture: Give your group a presentation about Hispanic dance styles and history. The Latin Ballet of Virginia has a great overview of Latin dance with videos and history to support your presentation. If you have one nearby, invite a local Hispanic dance group to perform some typical Latin dance styles: salsa, bachata, merengue, Argentine tango, flamenco, cumbia, or Mexican folk dances. The dancers may also be able to lead a beginner dance class for those who are able to. Bachata is a great dance to learn for those who have never tried Latin dance. The rhythm is easy to feel, and the moves are not too complicated for beginners.
Listen to or read poems by Chilean artist and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda: You can use the Poetry Foundation’s website to learn about his life here: Pablo Neruda | The Poetry Foundation, and you can find some of his poems on poets.org Here is a selection to read and discuss with your community:
- “Walking Around” by Pablo Neruda
- Discussion: Have you ever felt frustrated with something? What would you write or say to express that frustration?
- “Ode to My Socks” by Pablo Neruda
- Discussion: Were any of your clothes a gift from someone or have you given a gift of clothing to someone? What was it? Would you save a handmade gift or is it too precious to use?
- “One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII” [I don’t love you as if you were a rose] by Pablo Neruda
- Discussion: How have you told someone you love them? If you added another line to the sonnet, what would it say?
Guess the National Anthem/Country: There are 21 Hispanic nations celebrated during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Use this playlist of the national anthem for each of the listed countries and see how many your community members can guess: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico (U.S.A Territory), Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Spain, Equatorial Guinea
Learn about and play some rounds of Lotería: This fun game is similar to bingo (sometimes even called “Mexican bingo”) and is played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls. You can learn how to play and print your own cards here or you can purchase a copy (or a few depending on your community size) of Lotería sets for your group to play.
Have a Hispanic food tasting: Coordinate with your community chef to see if they can help prepare a Hispanic food day. Dishes you can consider: empanadas, Spanish rice and beans, corn esquites, tacos, tortilla española/Spanish omelet, churros, and arroz con leche. Hold a cooking class or demonstration with your community chef. A good option for a class or demo would be corn esquites. Serve in small cups.
Per 4 servings:
- 4 large ears of corn, (about 3-4 cups of kernels)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1/2 cup Cotija cheese, crumbled (or Queso Fresco/Feta as a substitute)
- 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 fresh lime
- Chili powder or Tajín to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1 hot plate and pan for cooking corn
Instructions: Have community members participate as you feel they are able—adding, chopping, stirring ingredients or make it a demonstration followed by a tasting.
- Shuck the Corn: Have community members shuck the ears of corn. Cut the corn off the ears. Alternatively, use whole kernel canned corn, drained of equal volume.
- Char the corn: Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn kernels and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until the corn is nicely charred and slightly blistered.
- Season: Turn off the heat. Stir in the minced garlic and a pinch of salt until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Make the sauce: In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Mexican crema, lime juice, and half of the diced jalapeño.
- Combine: Transfer the warm corn to a mixing bowl. Fold in the creamy dressing and stir well. Separate into serving cups.
- Garnish: Top with the crumbled Cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, remaining jalapeño, and a generous sprinkle of chili powder or Tajín. Serve warm or at room temperature.
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH TRIVIA
1. Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 each year. How many countries declared their independence from Spain on that date in 1821?
Answer: Five. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
2. Hispanic Heritage Month started as a single week in 1968. Which U.S. president later expanded it to a full 30-day celebration?
Answer: Ronald Reagan in 1988
3. The Mexican card game Lotería is often called “Mexican Bingo.” But it didn’t originate in Mexico. In which European country did it begin in the 15th century?
Answer: Italy
4. In Lotería, the caller is known by a Spanish word that literally means “singer.” What is that word?
Answer: Cantor
5. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. But he wasn’t the first Chilean to win it. Which Chilean poet and educator won the prize in 1945, becoming the first Latin American Nobel laureate in literature?
Answer: Gabriela Mistral
6. “Pablo Neruda” was actually a pen name. What was the poet’s birth name?
Answer: Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto
7. Papel picado, the colorful cut-paper banners used to decorate Mexican festivals, translates to what in English?
Answer: “Perforated paper” or “punched paper”
8. The popular Mexican street corn snack served in a cup is called esquites. The name comes from the Nahuatl word “ízquitl.” What does ízquitl mean?
Answer: Toasted corn
9. Cotija cheese, a salty, crumbly Mexican cheese sometimes called “the Parmesan of Mexico,” is named after a town in which Mexican state?
Answer: Michoacán
10. The passionate dance style flamenco is closely associated with the Andalusia region of which country?
Answer: Spain
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH
“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.” —Pablo Neruda
“Write what should not be forgotten.” —Isabel Allende
“Good things do not come easy. The road is lined with pitfalls.” —Desi Arnaz
“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” —Gabriel García Márquez
“¡Celebremos! Letters, Pizza, and Hispanic Heritage Month” was written by Emily Wang. Copyright 2026 Emerald Workshop LLC. All rights reserved. Visit us at www.eldersong.com
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