Hispanic Heritage Month is held annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community. President Lyndon Johnson started the observation in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan extended to a month.
Since then, the month has been celebrated nationwide with festivals, art shows, conferences, community gatherings, and much more.
To kick off National Hispanic Heritage Month, Viasat special projects manager Analisa Bañuelos talks about her work at Viasat and what it means to be a Hispanic woman at Viasat.
“I love that Viasat has helped me feel comfortable in being me with my Hispanic culture in the workplace. I was asked one time to speak in Spanish to a group of college students from Mexico who were studying engineering and I was super excited. I was able to share my background in engineering, what I do at Viasat, and how much I enjoy what I do. I was very happy to tell my story in hopes that I could provide some inspiration, as it would be amazing to see an increase of Hispanics in engineering fields.
“I also think it’s fun to share my culture with my colleagues so they can learn about Hispanic traditions that they might have not known about, such as eating a Rosca (oval-shaped colorful bread) on Jan. 6 for a holiday called Dia de Reyes. Bringing more awareness to all the beautiful cultures we have allows everyone to embrace and appreciate our cultural make-up and that is a wonderful thing.
“I would also love to bring awareness to Dia de la Independencia — Mexico’s Independence Day. This national holiday falls on Sept. 16 each year to commemorate the country’s freedom from centuries of Spanish rule on Sept. 16, 1810. People often mistake Cinco De Mayo for Mexico’s Independence Day, but Cinco de Mayo commemorates the anniversary of Mexico’s 1862 victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla. So along with Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s also celebrate Dia de la Independencia!”
Although Viasat is shaped by engineers from all walks of life, we’re taking this time to highlight our Hispanic and Latinx engineers working to develop new technology that will help us grasp our clean energy future, along with the skilled workers who will build it.
Latino educators, scientists, artists, and other professionals help make our communities more resilient and equitable, and shape the ongoing drive for global communications.
Hispanic Heritage Month allows us at Viasat to show recognition and support for the work Latinos and Hispanics are doing in helping our business grow. We hope you’ll join us in honoring this wonderful culture, and the contributions it and its people make to our company, our country and society.