Michelle A. Tarnelli

In 1968, President Lynden B. Johnson obtained authorization from Congress to proclaim one week in September as National Hispanic Heritage Week. In 1988, President Ronald Regan expanded the observance to a month-long celebration

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15th, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16th and Chile on September 18th.

In Utica, MVLA, Inc. celebrates this event with:

• Cultural Dances are performed by Ritmo Caribeño
• Food, Latino-Hispanic, Afro-Cuban bands, performing their "cultural music"
• We bring awareness to the communities in MV by demonstrating our cultural artifacts