Hello collegiettes™!
The period between September 15th and October 15th was Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration of the Hispanic heritage in the USA. This event is always a great opportunity for the Hispanic community to showcase its talents and contributions, as well as for others to see what Hispanics have added to what the United States is today.
Here are some Hispanic women that have made and are still making a big impact in our American society:
Gloria Estefan
Every contemporary Hispanic/Latino artist in our country has Gloria Estefan to be thankful for their success. She was the pioneer in making Hispanic music popular in the USA, starting in the 80’s. A woman whose love for music started at a young age, Estefan has used her talent to touch and inspire people from all over the world, as she sings in four different languages.
She was born in 1957 in Havana, Cuba and as a toddler fled to Miami with her family during the difficult times of the Cuban Revolution. She received a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in French at the University of Miami.
In 1975 she met the man that would become the love of her life and long-lasting music partner, Emilio Estefan. Her career has been extremely successful as she has won seven Grammys. In 1996, her song “Reach” became the anthem of that year’s Atlanta Summer Olympics, a performance watched and loved by people from all over the world. You can watch that performance here!
Gloria Estefan may no longer be the most popular female Hispanic singer today, but her legacy in the music industry and in Hispanic communities in the USA and around the world will remain for many more years to come.
Soledad O’Brien
Soledad O’Brien was born in New York in 1966, a daughter of a Cuban mother and Australian father. An interesting fact is that O’Brien cannot speak fluent Spanish, even though that is her mother’s first language.
Following the footsteps of other four siblings, she attended Harvard for four years (1984-1988) but only received her diploma when she went back in 2000. She has become a prestigious broadcast journalist and in 2005 was named “Groundbreaking Latina of the Year” by Catalina magazine. She has worked for NBC News, CNN and HBO.
O’Brien has also produced acclaimed documentaries, such as the most recent one “Black in America”. Despite being only half Hispanic, Soledad O’Brien has shown how diverse the Hispanic community really is and how it is involved in many different aspects of American society.
Shakira
Shakira may be famous for her “Hips Don’t Lie” moves, but this Colombian born and raised woman is so much more than that. Besides having a successful career as a musician, having won two Grammys and eight Latin Grammys, Shakira has created a foundation to help children in Colombia and has become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
She has recently been in the spotlight of the world as she performed “La La La” at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup this summer in Brazil. Four years ago she also performed the song that became the anthem of 2010’s FIFA World Cup, “Waka Waka”.
Shakira’s music, sung in both English and Spanish, has brought a beautiful mix of sounds, rhythms and cultures to the world. With her fun and upbeat music, Shakira takes a little bit of the life and joy of the Hispanic people wherever she goes.
Gaby Rodriguez
Gaby Rodriguez is not a famous person, but as a senior project in high school she wrote a book that was turned into a movie by Lifetime called “The Pregnancy Project”.
In 2011, as a 17-year-old, she pretended to be pregnant as her senior project, in order to observe how her fellow students and teachers would treat her. She wanted to bring awareness to the stereotypes that young women, especially Latinas, experience if they get pregnant while in high school, and the expectation that they will.
Only a handful of people knew that Gaby’s pregnancy was fake. On the day of her project’s presentation, she removed her fake pregnant belly in front of the shocked crowd at her school.
Gaby’s bold senior project was not an easy one to go through, but at the end she was able to teach a powerful lesson: stereotypes are not always true.
There are many more Hispanic women that could be added to this list, but I hope the ones here inspire you with their stories and achievements. Truth is, there is much controversy to what the term “Hispanic” even means and it brings up many feelings and emotions when spoken out loud. But what all these women have in common is that despite their background and the stereotypes of being Hispanic/Latina, they have been able to make a big different in the United States, and even in the world.
Photo Sources:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2014/shakira-shows-football-skills-maracana-3848056
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/12/25/estefan-standards-album
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/13/entertainment/la-et-st-soledad-obrien-conversation-20131013
http://myshaki.blogspot.com/2008/07/shakira-en-leticia-colombia-fotos.html