Cheers erupted in Gasson 100 as students carried flags representing each Hispanic country across the room, kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month at Boston College.
“This is a time for us to come together, honoring the cultures, traditions, and stories that shape our communities and celebrate the incredible contributions of Hispanic, Latino people everywhere,” said Yvonne McBarnett, director of the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center (BAIC) and BC ’05.
Shawna Cooper Whitehead, vice president for student affairs, began her address by quoting Saint Oscar Romero, a Salvadoran bishop known for defending human rights and advocating for the marginalized.
“Romero’s lesson is a reminder that peace and community require active participation,” Cooper Whitehead said. “They require that we all show up for one another with dignity, joy, and purpose.”
Cooper Whitehead explained the history behind Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Its timing coincides with the independence days of several Hispanic countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.
Cooper Whitehead also highlighted the importance of honoring the past achievements of the Hispanic community while future generations, which is the overarching theme of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, according to the National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers.
“Latino and Hispanic Americans continue to shape every sector of our society—entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, educators, public service, and culture leader—but even more importantly, these contributions fuel our collective imagination of what’s possible when all voices are heard and valued,” Cooper Whitehead said.
After Cooper Whitehead’s address, Joana Maynard, an assistant director in the BAIC, led a bilingual prayer in English and Spanish, followed by the annual parade of flags representing each Hispanic country.
The night also featured performances by Fuego del Corazón, a Latin dance group at BC, and Ten Tumbao, a Boston-based Latin music group that performed in the ceremony for the second year in a row.
Maynard also introduced Paola Cisneros Lau, assistant director of education and training initiatives at the Women’s Center and chair of Latino/as @ Boston College, a community engagement group, as an additional campus resource for Hispanic students.
Ashley Delgado, the 2025 Saint Oscar A. Romero Scholarship recipient and MCAS ’26, called on the audience to come together and advocate for justice with love, following Romero’s example.
“Hispanic Heritage Month reminds us that identity is not just individual, it is collective,” Delgado said. “To know our community is to love our community. To know our history, our struggles, and our resilience is to love the responsibility we carry to keep moving forward.”
Delgado said her childhood experience facing threats from attorneys and developers, who tried to intimidate and force Delgado and her family from her home, inspired her to pursue housing justice.
“That experience could have caused me to become silent,” Delgado said. “Instead, it led to my mission—to make sure that no other family sits in that kind of fear without knowledge or protection.”
Delgado concluded her speech by quoting Romero and encouraging the audience to embrace their identities and experiences as a source of strength for their future.
“To know you is to love you,” Delgado said.“To know our people is to fight for them, and to know who we are, as Latinos, as leaders, as children of God, is to understand that our identity itself is an act of self-love.”