Overview
- The 2026 National Hispanic Heritage Month started on Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15, marking a federally defined 31‑day observance that centers events across schools, libraries, museums and community groups.
- Congress extended the original 1968 weeklong proclamation to a 31‑day period in 1988 through Public Law 100‑402, and presidential proclamations since 1989 have formalized the annual observance.
- Organizers chose the Sept. 15 start to include the independence anniversaries of five Central American countries and to cover Mexico’s Sept. 16 and Chile’s Sept. 18 celebrations, which is why the observance crosses two calendar months.
- The 2026 theme, 'Unidos, somos más,' frames exhibitions, concerts, classroom materials and community events this year and comes with publicly available educational posters and resources for institutions to use.
- Coverage emphasizes the community’s size—about 68–70 million people, roughly one‑fifth of the U.S. population—and highlights ongoing conversations about labels like 'Hispanic' versus 'Latino/Latinx' as well as the everyday cultural, economic and civic contributions that these observances showcase.