Originally, Hispanic Heritage Week was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson—established by legislation sponsored by Representative Edward R. Roybal—to recognize the influence of Hispanic Americans on the history and culture of the United States. Twenty years later, Representative Esteban Edward Torres sponsored legislation to expand that week into a month, a law that President Ronald Reagan signed in 1988.

Hispanic identity is a broad spectrum, and the timing of Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with a series of significant events, milestones and achievements across the community. September 15 is the anniversary of the Cry of Dolores, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued a call-to-arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. This war ended with the independence of not only modern-day Mexico, but also Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16; Chile celebrates theirs September 18. Finally, Indigenous People’s Day, which honors the Indigenous populations of the Americas, falls under Hispanic Heritage Month in October.

While Hispanic Heritage Month offers a moment to reflect and celebrate the diversity of our community, we’ve built our culture around people-centric values designed to promote a sense of belonging and empower our people each day. Part of fostering an environment of inclusion means encouraging people to raise their voices. To that end, we support the creation of community groups like the Cultura.Monks, some of whom you’ll meet below. In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, they have come together to reflect on and celebrate the history of their communities.

Where are you located? 

Charlotte, North Carolina

How long have you been with Media.Monks?

Four months - I'm a newbie!

Tell us more about your role.

Embedded at Google, I support marketing efforts for Grow with Google through media planning and strategy. I work collaboratively to create advanced and holistic media plans to drive great brand/product awareness, content discoverability, viewership and ultimately conversion, resulting in a delightful user experience.

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?

Hispanic Heritage Month is a time of extreme pride in my roots. This month represents and celebrates the resilience of all the people who sacrificed so much to leave their homes and chase a dream or a better life in this country. It means a celebration of merged races & cultures, resulting in so many beautiful people. It's a celebration of our roots, our homelands, our delicious food, our contagious music and everything else in between. The fact that Hispanic Heritage Month even exists is an honor. I am honored that my home country celebrates the contributions and impact of my fellow Latinos. 

What is a moment in history that has influenced your life or career, or that resonates with you?

As a Latina and first-generation American, the Obama election in 2008 will resonate with me forever. I was still a teenager at the time. Regardless of any political beliefs, seeing him win gave me hope. It inspired me to push boundaries and go further than the norm. He didn't only impact my life, but also inspired me in the professional realm. There have been MANY times throughout my career where I've been the only minority in the room.  It encouraged me to embrace all our cultural differences, because that's when we as a nation have the most positive impact. His impact on me was that through good, honest, hard work, you can essentially defeat all odds. It encouraged me that America was embracing change—in a good way. I wrote him a letter a couple of years ago detailing how he impacted me and my community—and I actually got a response back. His impact will resonate forever with me. 

Is there a Latinx or Latine leader, past or present, who inspires you?

Minerva Mirabal's life work was very inspiring to me. She was a political activist and one of the pioneers in the resistance movement against a corrupt dictator in the Dominican Republic in the 1950s. The UN observes International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on the 25th of November. The date marks the brutal assassination in 1960 of Minerva Mirabal, alongside her two sisters. There've been lots of great books and movies written about her—check out Julia Alvarez's (shout-out to her as well) "In the Time of the Butterflies." She's inspired me because of her courage and her tenacity: she dared to be brave in a man's world and actually made a difference. She was a mother and a family woman but still fought for her future and her country's. I think her story is super inspirational.

Where are you located?

Born, raised and currently reside in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles.

How long have you been with Media.Monks (If you came from a merged company feel free to include your time there as well)?

I just completed my first incredible year at the company!

Tell us more about your role.

My official title is Retoucher/Designer. Every day is a new challenge (which I love), and the position gives me the opportunity to learn new methods and keep advancing my skills. 

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?

As a first-generation Mexican American, It gives me the opportunity to reconnect with my upbringing and be able to share in my culture and history with my kids.

What is a moment in history that has influenced your life or career, or that resonates with you?

I would have to say it would be discovering punk rock music. It not only taught me to question everything and be open-minded, but also the idea that I can do things myself. There are no set of rules in life that you have to follow, and discovering what you can accomplish on your own or with a group of like-minded individuals really inspires me to try new things.

Is there a Latinx or Latine leader, past or present, who inspires you?

I have no single person that I can list, but my main inspirations are of course, my family and all the hard work they put in for my brothers and me to have a better life. I'm also inspired by those around me who are accomplishing big things and knocking out some goals. I'm a huge believer in supporting each other and being there for those that believe in you!

Where are you located?

Santa Clara, CA (Bay Area)

How long have you been with Media.Monks (If you came from a merged company feel free to include your time there as well)? 

I’ve been at Media.Monks (formerly Firewood Marketing) for eight and a half years and counting!

Tell us more about your role.

After spending over seven years supporting embedded digital media programs for Google, I transitioned to the “Buy Team” to co-lead the Google media team on the agency side (non-embedded team). I help support a group of talented media planners, media buyers, operation leads, and analysts to identify, develop, and execute the right media program across a myriad of Google product teams.

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?

Personally, Hispanic Heritage Month means awareness to our roots—an opportunity to reflect and commemorate milestones and accomplishments of Hispanic Americans over the course of our history. Also, it’s very important to assess where we stand today and ask ourselves, “Who are our biggest influencers through politics, education, leadership?” And how can we continue our journey to mark an impact for Hispanic Americans and all minorities?

What is a moment in history that has influenced your life or career, or that resonates with you?

For anyone, I feel the impact of being a parent deeply shapes your life. For all that have worked with me, you know about Katheryn!  But career-wise, learning of my passion towards marketing was the pivotal point in my career. I started my tech career in sales, but shortly after I changed my focus towards marketing for its flexibility to not only “sell” but influence brands, decisions, and our everyday lives. 

Is there a Latinx or Latine leader, past or present, who inspires you?

Sylvia Mendez and her family, for helping set the stage for Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954. Civil rights activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta for their contributions to the farmworkers’ movement, immigration reform and various other legislative action campaigns. In sports, Jim Plunkett, the first Latino to win the Heisman Trophy in 1970, and Tom Flores, the first Latino starting quarterback in professional football, who later became the first Latino head coach in professional football. I admire them all for their great courage and tenacity to change minds and perspectives, and for setting course for future generations.

Where are you located? 

San Francisco

How long have you been with Media.Monks (If you came from a merged company feel free to include your time there as well)? 

Over two and a half years now, originally from Firewood.

Tell us more about your role. 

I'm the Associate Director for P&E Developer on the Google Media Team. I work across 15 or so product areas, aligning digital media strategy and process to ensure campaign success! I am also on the board for the Pride.Monks community group.

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you? 

While I'm not a fan of Hispanic as a name for the community, I appreciate this moment as a way to honor and celebrate the contributions of my community in the context of American and world history. On a more personal note, it's really important to showcase the diversity within the community. Like Pride.Monks, Cultura.Monks is full of people from different countries, backgrounds and traditions. It's really great to see that spectrum represented, especially during this month.

What is a moment in history that has influenced your life or career, or that resonates with you?

Rita Moreno EGOT-ing is one thing that comes to mind for me. It's a great celebration of what Latinx excellence looks like in pop culture, and I don't think we give her enough flowers. On the flipside of that, Selena getting memorialized in her own film was a significant moment for the culture! Even people who aren't Latinx know who she is because of that movie. I think that release marked a moment for me when I really felt my culture was being represented in an authentic way.

Is there a Latinx or Latine leader, past or present, who inspires you? 

Aside from the above icons, I think Frida Kahlo is a great example of Latinx excellence. I do photography on the side, and I'm inspired by Frida's magic realism point of view that comes from a uniquely Mexican POV. Frida is also a gender fluid queer icon, so I really appreciate the intersectionality of their impact.