In 1988 the United States Congress declared September 15 through October 15 the National Hispanic Heritage Month. This is an extension of the week-long celebration proposed by President Lyndon B. Johnson back in 1968. For a month the U.S. celebrates the culture and traditions of those from Spain, Mexico and Latin America and the Caribbean.
September 15 was chosen because it is the anniversary of independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. On September 16 and 18 Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence parties respectively.
To start the celebration, the U.S. Census Bureau has compiled the most illustrative data about the Hispanic population in the country. Among the issues considered are population; businesses; families and children; income, poverty, and health; and education. Jobs, voting and participation in military are also included.
The fact sheet shows that as of April, 2010 there were 50.5 million Hispanics in the U.S. or the 16.3 percent of the nation’s total population. From April 2000 to 2010, the Hispanic population grew 43 percent. Projections show the number of Hispanics will be 132.8 million on July 1, 2050. Sixteen states have more than a half million Hispanics, being South Carolina the state with the highest percentage increase (148 percent) between April 2000 and 2010.
As of 2007 there were 2.3 million Hispanic-owned businesses—an increase of 43.7 percent compared to 2002—which generated $345.2 billion. Most of the receipts of Hispanic owned businesses were concentrated in wholesale trade, construction and retail trade (50.8 percent).
The median income of Hispanic households in 2009 was $38,039 and the poverty rate 25.3 percent, an increase of two points from the previous year. In terms of voting, in the 2008 presidential election 9.7 million Hispanic citizens voted.
