Virtual celebrations and cool cars
Sandia’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15, went mostly virtual this year. The national theme of HHM this year was Hispanics: Be proud of your past and embrace the future.
The Hispanic Outreach for Leadership and Awareness employee resource group’s festivities opened with a welcome video message from HOLA Executive Champion and Associate Labs Director Scott Aeilts, Kirtland Air Force Base Installation Commander Col. David Miller and NNSA Federal Contracting Officer Corinne Sisneros.
“The Hispanic Heritage Month car show has been one way that the HOLA team has celebrated Hispanic Heritage month at Sandia,” Scott said. “This year, despite a scaled back and modified approach to ensure it was done with all COVID-19 safety protocols, it was a tremendous success.”
The fifth annual car show was the only in-person event this year. Co-hosted by Sandia and KAFB and held at Hardin Field, the socially distanced event featured 24 vehicles on display.
The Sandia workforce swept the car show awards. Juan A. Bustos received Best of Show for his 1962 Chevy Impala, Luciano Crespin won first place for his 1949 Dodge Dually, Michael Marquez received second place for his 1955 Buick Special and Lynnwood Dukes walked away with third place for his 2006 supercharged Ford Mustang. Visit Sandia’s Hispanic Heritage Month Facebook page for more photos.
HENAAC winners, art show and more
Also honored this year were the 2020 Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Awards Conference award winners Angela Rivas, who received a Luminary Honoree award, and Tito Bonano, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Past HENAAC winners also were highlighted throughout the month, through a series of Q&A profiles.
The art this year featured the annual youth art contests for high school, middle school and elementary school artists, along with a Sandian art display presentation. The Sandian art can also be viewed in person at the Thunderbird Café.
For the many, many people who are sorely missing the food this year, HOLA also put together Libro de Recetas/Dichos/Remedios Caseros, a booklet of recipes to calm the cravings for good food, served along with dichos (old sayings), as well as some traditional remedies.
Hispanic Heritage Month observances started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover the 30-day period. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402. Sept. 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.
