As Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and deportations escalate across the U.S., many say this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month feels different. It is usually a celebration of culture and pride, but it has taken on a new meaning with feelings of fear and uncertainty.
Senior Gabriella Garcia said the political climate has made her family more intentional about celebrating together.
“With my family, we usually like to cook a lot of Hispanic food for Hispanic Heritage Month,” Garcia said. “Lately, with everything that’s been going on, we’ve been just really spending a lot of time together, especially during these difficult times.”
Garcia emphasized that the crackdowns on immigration make her feel as though Hispanic culture is treated more as a political issue rather than something to celebrate.
“I honestly feel like it shouldn’t be a political issue at all,” Garcia said, “Everybody deserves to be here and have a chance to do good and have a future. People are literally getting ripped apart from their families, just because they’re Hispanic.”
Junior Jacob Rojas explained that school events, such as food tastings and cultural activities, help him feel connected to his heritage, even if the national climate complicates celebrations.
“To me, it all just means history, something that reminds us of our culture and not just where we came from, but how we got here,” Rojas said. “Especially this heritage month, it’ll be a bigger reminder. ‘These are people, these are humans, look at how much culture, how much richness they have from all these years, and now they’re just being shunned.’”
Rojas feels it is difficult to separate celebration from the current state of immigration enforcement.
“It’ll be in my head like, ‘Oh it’s Hispanic Heritage Month, okay cool,’” Rojas said. “Then at the same time, look at how severely these Hispanic people are being treated on a day-to-day.”
For Rojas, celebrating this month is more about food and activities; it shows strength in unity. He said celebrating sends an important message in this day and age.
“It sends a message of acceptance and also solidarity to some extent,” Rojas said.
Spanish teacher Liliana Ortegon, who helps organize Hispanic Heritage Month activities at the school, highlighted how fear has changed how people celebrate beyond Midtown’s campus.
“I know, for example, that in Savannah, they had to cancel the [festival],” Ortegon said. “There was a Hispanic Heritage Festival a week ago, and it was canceled because of fear of people attending. I know that many Hispanics, even people with legal status, don’t attend these types of activities because they are afraid to get involved or get in a situation.”
Ortegon said these fears partly come from harmful narratives that don’t reflect the reality of Hispanic contributions.
“I just see that the government is creating this misconception about the contributions of Hispanics, and they are just putting all of us in one big bucket,” Ortegon said. “In that sense, it’s just not realistic, it’s just negative the way that they are doing it.”
On Midtown’s campus, they offer activities like flamenco lessons, trivia games and zumba classes. Ortegon said these activities can help students celebrate without fear of scrutiny or risks that keep families away from public events.
“I think that those activities enrich the students because they show another part of the Spanish world, not only the language but also the culture,” Ortegon said.
Ortegon added that highlighting Hispanic achievements can make the celebrations even more meaningful.
“Sometimes we just don’t see them, don’t hear about that and don’t recognize what they are doing is good,” Ortegon said. “If they get the knowledge of, ‘Oh, this person did this and is Hispanic,’ that’s a gain. That’s what we want to achieve in classes.”
Garcia said even though her family finds strength in celebrating, she often feels that Hispanic struggles are ignored outside of her community.
“When there’s a bigger issue, everybody goes crazy, like recently with the Charlie Kirk thing,” Garcia said. “Nobody goes crazy for the Hispanics getting deported. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, okay, whatever.’ But what if it was you? What if it were your family getting torn apart from each other?”
Despite fear and stereotypes, Garcia and Rojas said Hispanic Heritage Month remains an important reminder of culture, history and pride.
“Forget about all the political issues that are happening, even though it’s not really a political issue in my opinion,” Garcia said. “I think people should never be afraid where they come from, never be afraid to speak a different language, [or to] dress the way they want to, for any culture, you shouldn’t be ashamed of that.”
