4 influential Hispanic Women to celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month
By Joanna Gentle, staff writer
From September 15 to October 15th we celebrate and uplift the Hispanic and Latinx people all over the world. Many Latin American countries celebrate their independence throughout this month and there are celebrations all across the United States to uplift the culture and history of these countries. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and the Hispanic and Latina women who have paved the way for the rights and opportunities of other women in Latin America we are going to bring them into the spotlight and tell their stories. Their stories matter just as much as their male counterparts because of the impact they made not just for their country and Hispanic/Latino people but also for the women living in these countries who are not often given a chance to shine. These women brought other women into the spotlight and created a space where other Hispanic women and Latinas could shine and this month we celebrate their hard work and their lives.
Celia Cruz:
Celia Cruz, often referred to as“ The Queen of Salsa” was born in 1925 in Barrio Santos Suarez in Havana Cuba. She earned her name by contributing to the rise of Salsa as a music genre in and outside of Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries. Known as a child for her amazing musical talents, there is a legend that her first pair of shoes were actually a gift from a tourist that she sang for. As a teenager, she began her career performing at cabarets and studied voice, theory, and piano at Havana’s National Conservatory of Music. She was hired as a singer for Las Mulatas Del Fuego and traveled throughout Latin America before becoming the lead singer for Cuba’s most popular orchestra where she continued rising as a star. During the Cuban Revolution for her safety, she moved to the U.S. and continued her career in New York where she mixed Cuban and Afro-Latin music with tradition creating a new genre called Salsa. She started a new movement and pioneered elements of the Afro-Latina identity paving the way for other Afro-Latina performers and singers.
Rita Moreno:
Rita Moreno was born Rosita Dolores Alverio in Humacao. Puerto Rico in 1931. She grew up in Puerto Rico until her family split up and she moved to New York City with her mother in 1935. In New York City she took dance lessons and dubbed voices for American child stars in films released in Spanish countries. She made her first appearance on Broadway at age 13 and from there on she took on the stage name Rita Moreno. During her time as an actress Rita Moreno earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony award. She was the first Hispanic woman to receive an Oscar and she received these awards for her performances in movies like The Muppet Show and Oz. Her work in Hollywood opened doors for not just Latinas but for women in Hollywood who still look up to her to this day.
Sonia Sotomayor:
Sonia Sotomayor was born to two Puerto Rican Parents in the Bronx in 1954, she is most famous for being the first Latina Woman and the third woman to ever become a United States Supreme Court Justice appointed by Barack Obama in 2009. As a child, she was raised by a single mother and had always dreamed of becoming a judge. After graduating from the Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx in 1972 and was accepted into Princeton University where she graduated summa cum laude in 1976 and went into Yale Law School. She received her juris doctor in 1979 and passed the bar in 1980. After becoming a lawyer she immediately began working as an assistant district attorney working long 15-hour days. After continuing to work up the ladder in Law in and outside of New York City she was appointed as a U.S. District Court judge in 1992. She was known for asking tough questions at oral arguments and for being sometimes brusque and curt with lawyers who were not prepared to answer them. In 2009 Barack Obama announced his nomination of Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court. Sotomayor’s story is inspiring and paved the way for many Latinas in Law who are still a huge minority.
Esmeralda Ribeiro:
Esmeralda Ribeiro was born in 1958 in São Paulo Brazil and is of African descent. She is a renowned Brazilian Journalist and writer. As a child, it was said that she had always dreamed of becoming a writer and wanted to embrace both of her cultures in her writing. She began her career as a writer when she studied journalism at the University of Sao Paulo And became a member of Quilombhoje which was an Afro-Brazilian literary group in 1982. Her first poems appeared in the 1982 anthology cadernos negros and her first short story “Ogun” appeared in the 1985 anthology. Many of her poems and short stories were translated into English for collections like International Dimension of Black Women’s Writing. For a time she also worked for the Sao Paulo state Secretary of Culture. Esmeralda Ribeiro and her work as a writer display a fusion of cultures that are inspiring to many multiracial women who would like to tap into their other cultures. Esmeralda shows that it is okay to be of more than one culture and inspires diversity in the writing industry.
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