A division of Destination El Paso announce the unveiling of its newest display celebrating Hispanic Heritage month. Photo courtesy of Visit El Paso.

Located at the heart of our city, a new art display at San Jacinto Plaza honors various Hispanic heroes during Hispanic Heritage month.  

Visit El Paso a destination marketing business for the City of El Paso, introduced its newest project being displayed for the entirety of National Hispanic Heritage month taking place Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 this year.  

The artwork is made up of large letters spelling “E” and “P” along with a star, a symbolic feature of the Sun City. The base color of the display is purple, but the designs on the sculpture are bright colors such as yellow, green, blue, and pink. Birds, flowers and plants make up the designs on the letters. On the sides of the giant letters “Hispanic Heritage” is written in white letters. 

Other displays will also be unveiled during the month to commemorate El Paso’s bi-nationality at the Mexican-U.S. border. 

National Hispanic Heritage month celebrates the contributions and influence of Hispanic culture in American history and achievements.  

National Hispanic Heritage Month was established in 1968 and was signed off as a law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The celebration originally lasted a week, until 1988 when President Ronald Reagan extended the celebration to one month.  

Sept.15 was chosen as a starting point for the celebration because of the five Hispanic countries that celebrate their independence on this day. Those countries are Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Other Latin countries such as Mexico, Chile, and Belize, celebrate their independence a couple of days later. 

The borderland usually celebrates Hispanic Heritage month by hosting various events like plays and concerts that highlight Hispanic culture. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many events were canceled this year to abide by health and safety regulations. However, some El Paso organizations are still commemorating this time of year like the El Paso Community College (EPCC) Hispanic Heritage Committee that is hosting a series of virtual events including awarding a Hispanic Heritage Month scholarship student. Attendees of the Visit El Paso art project are encouraged to take pictures with the art display and post pictures on social media with the hashtags #elpasostrong or #iloveep.  

 Alyson Rodriguez may be reached at [email protected]