Check out the Hispanic Heritage display featuring books from the library collection.

A Very Brief History 

We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic-American champions who have inspired others to achieve success. The observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988 (National Archives). 

Your exploration of Hispanic Heritage Month goes beyond GC Libary, explore interactive galleries and digital collections! 

Explore "¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States"

• Take a 360 Self-Guide Tour and Explore An Interactive Map of the Gallery 

Library of Congress Blog: An Evening of Collective Art-making with Chicano Artist Mario Torero

Library of Congress Digital Collection: The United States and Brazil: Expanding Frontiers, Comparing Cultures

• This online collection contains digitized items from the Library of Congress collection that was originally made available as The United States and Brazil: Expanding Frontiers, Comparing Cultures/Brasil e Estados Unidos: Expandindo Fronteiras, Comparando Culturas, as part of the Global Gateways initiative.

Library of Congress Digital Collection: New Mexico Folklife Project Collection

• The New Mexico Folklife Project was conducted by Carl Fleischhauer of the American Folklife Center, in the summers of 1984 and 1985. In 1984, the effort supported the work of the folklorist Laurie Beth Kalb, representing the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and focused on three Hispanic santeros in northern part of the state: Felix Lopez, La Mesilla; Eulogio Ortega, Velarde; and Horacio Valdez, Dixon, with additional documentation of the work of the artist Clem "Pop" Shaffer in Mountainair, New Mexico.

Library of Congress Spotlight on U.S. Hispanic Writers

• LOC literary audio collections contain historic and contemporary recordings featuring poets and writers reading and discussing their work at the Library of Congress (and beyond)—digitized and right at your fingertips. 

Library of Congress Digital Collection: Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection

• Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection is an online presentation of an ethnographic field collection documenting religious and secular music of Spanish-speaking residents of rural Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. In 1940, Juan Bautista Rael of Stanford University, a native of Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico, used disc recording equipment supplied by the Archive of American Folk Song (American Folklife Center archive) to document alabados (hymns), folk drama, wedding songs, and dance tunes. The recordings included in the collection were made in Alamosa, Manassa, and Antonito, Colorado, and in Cerro and Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico. In addition to these recordings, the collection includes manuscript materials and publications authored by Rael which provide insight into the rich musical heritage and cultural traditions of this region.