SACRAMENTO, California — Every year on Sept. 15, the anniversaries of independence days across five countries in Central America mark the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Through Oct. 15, celebrations honor the histories, cultures and contributions of Hispanic and Latin Americans in the U.S.
When celebrating Latin and Hispanic identities, it's important to recognize those terms refer to ethnicities, not a singular race. The Hispanic community is not a monolith, and among those who can trace their heritage to Spanish-speaking countries or Latin American countries, people share various Indigenous, African, European and Asian heritages.
The rich diversity of the community has been shaped by hundreds of years of European imperialist rule, wars, and voluntary and involuntary migration. Before European conquests, it's estimated there were as many as 1,750 indigenous languages in Latin America. Today, hundreds of indigenous languages still exist, although many are endangered.
According to the Pew Research Center, about 130 million people of African descent live in Latin America, connected to Latin America's colonial history when Africans were captured, traded and sold into slavery in Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Brazil was the destination for the majority of slaves brought to the Americas.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade was abolished in 1807, which would lead Portuguese, Spanish and British Empires to find low-wage laborers in East and South Asia to work on sugar cane, cotton and coffee plantations in Latin America. Today, Havana is home to one of the oldest Chinatowns in Latin America.
To highlight the diversity of Sacramento's Latin and Hispanic community, ABC10 spoke with 10 community members about what their identity means to them.
Is there a person or place we should highlight during National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month? Email ABC10's Race and Culture team, raceandculture@abc10.com.
Saara Burga, Afro-Latina
Saara Burga grew up in Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas state in Brazil. One of her strongest memories includes fishing in the middle of the rainforest with her father, who is Yanomami. The Yanomami are the largest relatively isolated tribe in South America, living among the rainforests and mountains of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela.
Burga grew up in a big and diverse household, where she could trace back her roots to Nigeria and Portugal. She said while she embraced her diverse background, she was discriminated against because of the texture of her hair. Still, Burga was keen on learning more about her ancestors and was a "sponge," soaking up everything she could in terms of art and language including dance and music. Burga first started performing Bumba-Meu-Boi at the age of nine, a dance of human and animal characters from Brazilian Indian mythology.
Burga's passion later translated into a bigger calling. She's now the executive director of the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento. The center serves as a safe space for performing arts and artists in the Sacramento area to freely express and share their cultures.
Ramiro Alarcón, Mexican
Ramiro Alarcón is a Mexican chef and owner of Cielito Lindo Catering in Sacramento. His interest in cooking grew out of the need to help his mother with house chores. As the eldest of eight kids in his home in México City, Alarcón was regularly tasked with helping out in the kitchen. Once he saw how his mother's cooking brought smiles to his siblings' faces at the table, he knew he wanted to bring the same act of love and happiness to others through food.
Alarcón strives to share a piece of his Mexican culture in each dish he makes. Dishes that hold a personal significance for him include soups, which remind him of his mother's love, and a good mole, which is a traditional Mexican sauce made with a variety of chiles and spices, often served with meats and rice. Alarcón recognizes the influence of ingredients native to México in other cultures and cuisines, such as corn, cacao and vanilla.
Crisia Regalado, Salvadoran American
Crisia Regalado discovered her love for singing when she was just five through family karaoke nights. Growing up in a Salvadoran household, she was exposed to cumbia music early on, a traditional dance and musical genre with origins in Colombia that has spread throughout Latin America. Cumbia would continue to influence Regalado's vocal colors and instrumentals. Regalado honed her vocal technique and musicality at the age of 10 when she joined an all-girls choir led by Antonio Espinal, a former accompanist for the National Palace of Fine Arts (Palacio Nacional de las Bellas Artes) in México City.
Regalado started taking songwriting seriously during 10th grade. She described Spanish as her first poetic language; the best way she could express herself lyrically. Now, she goes by the artistic name Sin Color, which means "without color." The name represents her desire to not be tied down to a singular genre or style of music.
For Regalado, Hispanic Heritage Month means embracing the diversity found within different cultures, as well as learning to treat each other with equality, dignity and respect.
Francisco Castillo, Nicaraguan
Francisco Castillo was raised in the Mission District in San Francisco after his family fled Nicaragua in the early 80s due to the Nicaraguan Revolution. He was constantly surrounded by different Latin cultures and family traditions growing up. For Christmas, he would go to his grandparents' homes and eat nacatamales, a traditional Nicaraguan dish. He also participated in Palo de Mayo, a type of Afro-Caribbean dance, during gatherings.
On Oct. 11, 2020, Castillo came out as gay. Prior to coming out, he feared rejection from his family and community because of his Latino heritage*. Instead, he was embraced and encouraged to live authentically. Now, he carries his identity proudly as a gay Latino man and continues to break stereotypes and assumptions made of him as a Latino man raised by a single mother in the Mission District. Castillo currently serves on the board of Equality California, the nation's largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.
*The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has a resource to help LGBTQ+ Latinx Americans in navigating intersectional challenges when coming out.
Carlos Kandia, Colombian
Carlos Kandia is a Colombian singer based in Sacramento who may be known for his performances at DOCO or the Golden 1 Center. He fell in love with music and theater at the age of eight after seeing his brothers perform in a symphonic band. Kandia said he was born with the "Colombian flavor," which allows him to share his music and rhythms to people in California and bring people of all diverse backgrounds together. Today, he has more than 4,500 live shows under his belt and continues to promote the celebration of culture and heritage through music. He was recognized as artist of the year in 2020 by the Midtown Association.
Colombia is often strongly associated with Pablo Escobar, the infamous leader of the Medellin Cartel, which controlled more than 80% of the international cocaine trade. Because of this stigma, Kandia always reminds people that Colombia is also known for artists like Shakira and Juanes, professional soccer player James Rodriguez, and novelist and journalist Gabriel García Márquez.
María Elena Pulido-Sepúlveda, Caxcán and Otomí of Central and Southern México
María Elena Pulido-Sepúlveda grew up in Sacramento in a multi-generational household. As a descendant of Caxcán and Otomí people of Central and Southern México, her dad emphasized the importance of appreciating the outdoors. For Pulido-Sepúlveda, being Indigenous means living up to the dreams and aspirations of the seven generations that came before her, as well as ensuring the next seven generations have a sustainable planet to live on.
Pulido-Sepúlveda grew up speaking Spanish with the push of her father, which helped her hold onto her culture and identity, especially because her grandparents weren't allowed to speak Spanish in school. Now, she continues to reclaim parts of her identity, by learning the Hñähñu, or Otomí, language with her children.
Growing up, she says she felt "less than" and excluded from both Chicano and Native communities. When she speaks Spanish, she's immediately ascribed the Latino status. In some Native spaces, she felt excluded because her descendancy comes from across the border. She was able to feel a greater sense of belonging when she joined the Ensuring Native Indian Traditions (ENIT) Club at Sacramento State, which serves to promote higher learning for Indigenous groups and offers resources like culturally appropriate mental health and wellness discussions.
Mario González, Argentinian
Mario González grew up in Rawson, the capital of the Argentine province of Chubut, and spent his childhood on his family's ranch surrounded by nature and animals. His most vivid memory of the outdoors was his first time horseback riding. Once he turned 18, González yearned to explore more of Argentina outside of the small city he grew up in and started studying journalism at the University of La Plata in Buenos Aires.
González started working as a press advisor for national deputies, helping coordinate interviews. He later returned to Rawson to work in local government as a legislative secretary and eventually a private secretary for the city mayor. Throughout his career, González said he wasn't always fully accepted because he was gay. Rather than expecting acceptance, he and his partner sought it out, especially from family and friends.
González said he is proud to be Argentine because he is part of a community that is supportive and always overcomes adversity. Of course, he's also proud of Argentina for winning the World Cup last year, the team's third win.
María Carbonell, Cuban
For María Carbonell, migrating from Cuba to the United States was anything but easy. Everything from the time of dinner to the different holiday celebrations was an adjustment, but Carbonell found herself in Sacramento to seek more opportunities and advance her education in nursing. In Cuba, Carbonell recalled the challenges of growing up in a communist country. She couldn't openly challenge systems or express her thoughts due to the lack of freedom of speech. Still, she and her family spoke of brighter futures.
When Carbonell came to Sacramento, she saw the need for more informational and cultural resources for the local Hispanic community. That's why she started D'Primeramano Magazine (translates to "first-hand") 14 years ago, which provides the latest news and advertising in Spanish. Carbonell wanted to make news more accessible, especially for those who are not able to tune into TV news every day.
For Carbonell, Hispanic Heritage Month isn't just limited to one month — it's part of her every day. She says she's creating a better community for others and the next generation by speaking Spanish, eating Latin food and sharing culture.
Victor Hugo, Peruvian
Victor Hugo grew up in Lima, Peru, where he spent most of his time by the beach hanging out with friends and playing music. His passion for music started in school, where the first musical instrument he ever learned to play was the zampoña, or Andean pan flute. Since then, he's learned to play several others, including various percussion instruments that are traditional to Peru and used for different rhythms.
Hugo can often be seen wearing a shirt that says "Cholo is beautyfull [sic]." In Peru, the word "Cholo" refers to indigenous farmers and people from the mountains. As an Afro-Peruvian, Hugo said the word "Cholo" holds a lot of personal significance for him and reminds him of the people who help provide food on the table.
Aside from music, Hugo also loves traditional Peruvian dishes such as Lomo Saltado, a beef dish with onions, tomatoes and French fries; and ceviche, generally made from fresh fish. He said his ultimate favorite food is Peru's traditional green rice and chicken, or arroz con pollo.
David Cordova, Oaxacan
David Cordova was born in Oaxaca, the fifth largest state of México, and grew up with family celebrations. Oftentimes, family parties included mole, a traditional sauce that originates from the Oaxaca and Puebla regions of México, which includes a variety of chiles, spices and nuts. Oaxaca is also known for its mezcal, a distilled alcoholic drink made from agave that shouldn't be confused with tequila. Cordova said people in Oaxaca will often offer mezcal as a welcoming gesture.
Because of its extreme geographic fragmentation, individual towns and tribal groups have lived in isolation and maintained their individual languages, customs and traditions in Oaxaca. Today, there are 16 formally recognized indigenous communities. The most prominent indigenous groups include the Zapotecs and Mixtecs. Cordova said he encourages everyone to visit Oaxaca to explore all the various cultures and traditions, even beyond Indigenous customs.
As a mental health counselor, Cordova aims to reduce the stigma about mental health within Latino communities. Particularly, he said he hopes to challenge "machismo," which describes the strong sense of masculine pride embedded in many Latino cultures that can often uphold toxic patriarchal ideals and beliefs.
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The Race and Culture team's mission is to serve our diverse communities through authentic representation, community engagement and equitable reporting.
Accomplishing our goals of inclusive reporting requires hearing from you. Is there a person or place that you want us to highlight? Email us at raceandculture@abc10.com or fill out the form below.
Watch more Hispanic Heritage Month stories: Deeply Rooted: a pro soccer team's mission to give young players in the community their dream