Hispanic Heritage officially ends this fall on October 15 after a month of events commemorating the contributions of people from this demographic. Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón held an event at the Ventura County Museum in Ventura this Wednesday October 14th, to honor the Latino population in Ventura County. The event was attended over 200 individuals including many Latinos in elected positions as well as many people from all walks of life.
It all started in June of 1968 when Southern California house of representative George E. Brown nobly spearheaded a resolution to right the omission of the contributions of a significant part of his constituency, ethnic Mexicans. The decree garnered 19 western cosponsors for a week-long acknowledgment. Subsequently, the administrations of presidents Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan extended this fete to a month-long tribute as the electoral power of Spanish surnamed citizens swelled in our nation’s politics.
The yearly launch of this homage aligns with the independence anniversaries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica from the Spanish empire in 1821.
“We are here to honor and recognize the 46% plus of the total population in Ventura County’s Latinos that contribute tremendously to our community. We have Latino mayors, councilmembers, senate and congress members that are representing us at the local, state and federal level. They are representing us but we need more of your engagement to continue the good fight that we are putting for our communities,” said Limón.
“Our community is frightened, our community need our support and we are here to help. We have many plans, many projects that cannot see the light now because the current administration, but this November 3 with your vote, that will change, I am very optimistic about it,” said Congressman Salud Carbajal at the event.
It is an important reminder of the strength we draw as a country from our immigrant roots and of U.S. values as a nation of immigrants. However, with Trump in the White House, this event has lost its significance for him; rather than valuing the Hispanic community, he accuses it of being a burden on the nation and has chosen to order mass deportations and widespread raids—such as the one last year ordered here in Camarillo on July 10, which resulted in over 360 arrests and deportations, the hospitalization of more than 20 people, and the death of a worker during that disastrous operation.
