Hispanic Heritage Month Highlights Identity and Opportunity

Hispanic Heritage Month coverage highlights Latino identity, creativity and community, as well as gaps in representation and opportunity. In San Diego, artist and entrepreneur Jiyan Rios Zandi created Local Brown Baby to reflect her mixed Kurdish and Mexican identity, which she rarely saw represented. In Newark, five students received $1,000 scholarships from Goya Foods; recipient Jaeden Alvarado plans to pursue psychology amid disparities in Latino college attainment and graduation. Afro-Latina advocates in Florida say a federal proposal to remove race and ethnicity questions from the 2030 census could make disparities within Latino communities harder to track, while artist Stefanie Lee uses Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba to preserve ancestral history. At the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, students are bringing Latino and local car cultures together through an event focused on lowriding, cultural expression and community connections.