Every fall, Hispanic Heritage Month returns, asking us to celebrate Latinx culture from September 15 to October 15. But this year, the contradictions feel especially stark. The current administration is not only cutting arts funding and rewriting history to fit its narrative, it is also escalating the deportation and detainment of Latinos, tearing families apart while claiming to honor our heritage. It’s difficult to believe the United States truly values “Hispanic heritage” this month or any month in 2025 when its policies actively harm our communities.
At Latina Media Co, we’re naming and unpacking these tensions. To do so, Editor-in-Chief Cristina Escobar and Director of Engagement Denise Zubizarreta, MALCM sat down to discuss what Heritage Month means in 2025 – and how we can honor our communities beyond a single 31-day stretch.
DENISE ZUBIZARRETA: This year, Hispanic Heritage Month feels impossible to separate from the larger picture. On one hand, we’re told to celebrate our culture for 30 days. On the other, we’re watching leaders erase, sanitize, and even criminalize our communities. That contradiction is heavy. It’s hard to embrace the flowers when the soil we’re standing on is being poisoned.
CRISTINA ESCOBAR: I can’t stop thinking about the Supreme Court ruling allowing ICE to racially profile Latinos. My feeds are full of dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor and hot takes pointing out the hypocrisy. In the shower, I’m wondering if like Pulitzer-winning Gustavo Arellano, I should start carrying my passport around with me everywhere. So yeah, what does it mean to even attempt to celebrate our heritage in this climate?
DENISE ZUBIZARRETA: For me, this is a time to double down on authenticity. Our stories can’t be confined to a calendar slot, and they can’t be dictated by government proclamations. The irony is that the same systems limiting us politically and economically are the ones “honoring” us during this month. I see Hispanic Heritage Month less as a gift and more as a call to resist – to show the world that our art, our journalism, and our voices aren’t going anywhere.
CRISTINA ESCOBAR: That’s right. I’d also say that we need to be louder than ever this year. Our culture is the culture of the United States. Salsa sales top Ketchup and have for more than thirty years. Bad Bunny keeps topping the charts. But this country wants to take our culture, take our labor, and leave us behind. We have to say no, loudly and clearly, and in a way that doesn’t leave behind the Black, Indigenous, and/or Queer members of our community. It’s a hefty task, but we’ve got to try.
DENISE ZUBIZARRETA: I think about future generations. What does it mean if our kids see only watered-down, state-approved versions of our heritage? That’s where our responsibility as critics, artists, and storytellers comes in. If the official narrative tries to flatten us, then our work has to push back, showing the complexity, the contradictions, and the beauty of who we are.
CRISTINA ESCOBAR: Absolutely. You know, every month is Heritage Month at Latina Media Co, but we’re not always celebrating. We’re looking at our community’s beauty and art, but also our shortcomings. We’re in this moment right now where the federal government is trying to define us – to say we’re all undesirable criminals. We have to make sure our voices, our stories are louder. We have to speak up. Forcefully and clearly. So let’s consider Hispanic Heritage Month 2025 a call to action.
