Hispanic Heritage Month 2015: Coca-Cola's New Commercial, Ronald Reagan Facts & More
The National Hispanic Heritage Month kicked off on Sept. 15 and will end exactly a month later. The annual celebration holds high significance for the Latino community, recognizing the contributions of Hispanics to the U.S. and their rich heritage and culture.
Coca-Cola is one of the companies attempting to get closer with the Hispanic community. Through the "Orgulloso De Ser" film, the beverage company recognizes "the power of family, culture and community by bringing people together in celebration of their heritage and unique family stories" shared by the Latino participants, Business Wire reported.
Their love and unity for their culture was shown by applying a temporary tattoo of their last names via the special Coca-Cola Heritage Tattoo Can, the news outlet added. Watch Coca-Cola's "Orgulloso De Ser" campaign here.
Lyndon Johnson created Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 at the time when the civil rights movement was in its full power. Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan was responsible for the expansion of the Hispanic Heritage Month, setting up the observation dates in effect now, Latin Times wrote.
Reagan was one of the most popular Republican presidents among the Hispanic community, especially for Cuban expats, Latin Times added. In 1984, four out of five Latinos voted for the former president, and in 1986, he passed a large amnesty bill that gave legal status and citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S.
Reagan's presidency also saw the rise of the Hispanic population by a third, the news outlet noted. When his term ended, there were 19.4 million Hispanics in the country that comprised 8% of the population.
Honduran Immigrant Gives Back
Rosmery Alonzo, who is from Tegucigalpa, Honduras and currently resides in Miami, Florida, is NBC News' first U.S. Hispanic citizen to be featured in its Hispanic Heritage Month series, "Our Countries, Our Heritage."
Alonzo helps Florida's Honduran population through the Fundacion Hondureña Americana, which assists hondureños in communicating with the Consulate of Honduras "when, for instance, someone passes away and the family needs help repatriating the body," NBC News reported.
"We also help those from Honduras access medical care and medicine, assistive devices like wheel chairs, and we support the community in any way we can so that they can better themselves," Alonzo further explained, as quoted by the news outlet.
The Foundation aids in building a soccer stadium in Honduras, as well as financing a local teen musical group's album for the benefit of their church. Aside from these, the institution coordinates police-citizen bike patrols and pushes to make Hondurans' lives in America better, NBC News added.