In the VI Hispanic Heritage Month is for Everyone

En Español  While a large portion of the Virgin Islands population considers its self to be Hispanic, when it comes to celebrating the contributions of Hispanics in the VI, all Virgin Islanders join in the festivities.

Herminio ‘Emilio’ Torres, the President of the non-profit organization “Estate Profit Action Committee” or EPAC, gets excited as he relates the schedule of events that his small, but mighty committee works on each year to bring attention to the important role that Hispanics have played in the course of Virgin Islands and world history.

Reflecting on the history of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in the United States, Torres quickly and proudly shares some history about the celebration. “In 1968,” says Torres, “Lyndon Johnson was the first U.S. President to proclaim September 15 ^th through October 15 ^th as Hispanic Heritage Month. Shortly thereafter in 1988, President Ronald Regan emphasized the significance of this celebration by formally declaring the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration a nationwide recognition that should henceforth be celebrated across the United States.” These declarations serve to demonstrate the tremendous importance that Hispanics have played throughout U.S. history.

“There are 5 specific countries that were named in the original proclamation,” states Torres, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Also noted as part of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration is that September 18th is the date when both Mexico and Chili gained their independence.” Eager to share more cultural history, Torres also added two more details: Mexico is the country which has the world’s largest population of Latinos and there is a Spanish speaking country in Africa known as Guinea Equatorial. Most people don’t think of Hispanics as being part of Africa,” continued Torres.

“Our month long celebration in the Virgin Islands,” continues Torres, “Focuses on bringing all Virgin Islanders together, whether Hispanic or not. We invite everyone to participate in the many events we sponsor, in an effort to help non-Hispanics understand and embrace the many wonderful facets of the Hispanic culture. Additionally, we Hispanics, take this opportunity to promote our culture among other cultures, pay tribute to our current outstanding community leaders, and to celebrate our cultural icons from bygone eras. ”

The committee who develops the schedule of events, works diligently to create a blend of all the cultural elements that Hispanics hold dear. Food, music, and dance are just a few of the elements that are highlighted. The events are extremely well attended with over 3,000 people taking part in the annual celebration. EPAC is frequently joined by other Hispanic organizations who also want to help pay tribute to the Hispanic culture and community contributions. Among these like-minded contributors and organizations are Mr. Emerito Torres, the Vice President of the VI/PR Friendship Day Committee, and representatives from Dominicanos en Accion who bring young dancers (age 13-18) to be featured as part of the Fiesta en El Barrio.

“We are open to the inclusion of others,” continued Torres, “No group that wants to participate in the Hispanic Heritage celebration is ever turned away – whether they are familiar with the Hispanic people or not. As part of this celebration, our goal is for Latinos to be recognized and included in the process to build a better Virgin Islands.

Kicking the celebration off will be the erection of flags representing all 21 Hispanic countries throughout the St. Croix community on Estate Profit or “Machuchal,” the largest Hispanic community on the island. The event schedule will begin on Friday, September 16th with a huge inter-cultural baseball game that brings together players and spectators from the entire St. Croix community. There will also be a day-long Expo held the following day that will feature demonstrations from organizations, companies and other community groups that will help bridge the linguistic gap and educate Hispanics on a wide variety of benefits and services available in the VI.  AARP Virgin Islands will be present to help inform its Hispanic members and non-members of the benefits, services and programs available through AARP membership. The Expo also features Hispanic music, food, crafts, and educational sessions conducted by Hispanic storytellers. On that same evening of the Expo at another location in the Machuchal area will be a Fiesta en El Barrio. Fiesta en El Barrio is a huge celebration featuring music, food and drink.

Events for children traditionally include: an invitation from the Department of Education to Hispanic representatives and the EPAC to provide classroom and school-wide presentations. Schools usually conduct sessions for students that will help them understand the role that Hispanics have played in both U.S. and V.I. history. This particular series of events have been faithfully coordinated by Mrs. Zulma Torres for the last 27 years. Mrs. Torres specifically develops events where she can bring Legislators, community leaders and political representatives to the schools to interact with students during the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The events are free and open to the public. Event organizers approach local businesses for contributions and sponsorships which enable the events to be offered at no charge to participants.

For more information on the schedule of events for the 2016 Hispanic Heritage Month activities please visit the AARP Virgin Islands website at: www.aarp.org/vi.

If you are interested in volunteering for this event, please contact the AARP VI State Office at viaarp@aarp.org.