Hispanic Heritage Month, or “Mes de la Herencia Hispana,” begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. It continues through October 15, and during that month, Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days.
Let’s take this opportunity to highlight five of the most remarkable women who represent the Latin world in the U.S., and celebrate them for their strength, values, cultural heritage, and the passion they bring to their work.
1. Dolores Huerta, activist
Dolores Huerta, who is of Mexican descent, was born in 1930 in New Mexico, but grew up in Stockton, in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley, where much of the U.S.’s produce is grown. Shocked by seeing farm workers exhausted by backbreaking labor, she became a powerful advocate for those farm workers, organizing the fight for fair pay and for better working conditions. In 1962 she and Cesar Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers, a farm workers’ union that continues standing up for workers’ rights today. READ MORE AT CARE2
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