September 15 - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

September 16 - Mexico

September 18 - Chile

In 1993, Ellen Ochoa became the first hispanic woman to go to space.   Ochoa was aboard a discovery shuttle for nine days while conducting research on the Earth's ozone layer.   Since her first travel to space, Ochoa has gone on three other space flights, logging nearly 1000 hours in space!  In addition to her pioneering space mission, Ochoa also became the first hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 

Jorge Ramos is a Mexican-American journalist who is one of the most recognized Hispanic leaders in the United States. At the age of 24, Ramos migrated to the U.S. from Mexico, and enrolled at UCLA to study journalism. He has been the anchorman for Noticiero Univision since 1986, a host for Al Punto, and a host for an English program called AMERICA.  Ramos is the author of many books that touch on different issues that Hispanics face in the U.S. Ramos is a voice and advocate for the Latin community and regularly speaks about injustices that are not given enough airtime.  He has interviewed many world leaders, such as Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. As stated by Jorge Ramos, “What you’re going to see in the near future is Hispanics with much more authority in almost every single industry: from baseball and soccer, to food and music, to politics and media. We’re seeing incredible growth for the Hispanic community, both in English and in Spanish."

Alexandria has been a major leading voice for Hispanic Americans in the past few years. She is a Bronx born woman of Puerto Rican descent. In 2016, she campaigned for Bernie Sanders for the democratic party. She decided to run for office in 2018, and challenged Democrat Joe Crumbly. Alexandria won and became the youngest person elected into the House of Representatives.  She is not only a congresswomen, but an educator and an activist. 

A first generation American and activist,  Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to  improving working conditions, pay, and treatment of farm workers. In the 1962, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), first and largest farm workers union. Cesar Chavez used nonviolent forms of protest, such as fasting, to shed light on social issues affecting farm workers. His last and longest fast lasted 36 days in Delano, California, where he gained public attention on the pesticides poisoning children and farm workers. 

"The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people." 

-- Cesar Chavez 

Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in 2009. She was born in The Bronx, New York, to Puerto-Rican parents. Her mother, Celina Baez, felt strongly about her children having an education. Sonia received her B.A. Degree from Princeton and her Law Degree from Yale University. Before becoming Supreme Court Justice, Sonia was an assistant district attorney New York County, a judge to the U.S. District Court, and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

Roberto Clemente was the first Hispanic baseball player to be initiated into the MLB Hall of Fame. He was a very beloved Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player, who received the Gold Glove Award for 12 consecutive seasons.  However, he did receive racial bias throughout his career, which led him to become an advocate for Latino and Black players' rights in baseball. As stated by Roberto Clemente, “Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth.” 

• Religion can be a protective factor for mental health in Latinx/Hispanic communities (faith, prayer) but can also contribute to the stigma against mental illness and treatment (demons, lack of faith, sinful behavior), so targeting religious institutions to help encourage good mental health and treatment-seeking is important. 

• There is a perception in Latinx/Hispanic communities, especially among older people, that discussing problems with mental health can create embarrassment and shame for the family, resulting in fewer people seeking treatment. 

• Research shows that in the Latinx/Hispanic population, older adults and youth are more susceptible to mental distress relating to immigration and acculturation. 

• While rates of mental health disorders among Latinx Americans are lower than those for non-Latinx whites and are higher among U.S.-born Latinx/Hispanic people than those who are foreign-born.

• Despite this, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, overall mental health issues are on the rise for Latinx/Hispanic people between the ages of 12-49. 

• Serious mental illness (SMI) rose from 4 percent to 6.4 percent in Latinx/Hispanic people ages 18-25, and from 2.2 percent to 3.9 percent in the 26-49 age range between 2008 and 2018.

• Major depressive episodes increased from 12.6 percent-15.1 percent in Latinx/Hispanic youth ages 12-17, 8 percent to 12 percent in young adults 18-25, and 4.5 percent to 6 percent in the 26-49 age range between 2015 and 2018.

• Suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts are also rising among Latinx/Hispanic young adults. While still lower than the overall U.S. population aged 18-25, 8.6 percent (650,000) of Latinx/Hispanic 18-25 year-olds had serious thoughts of suicide in 2018, compared to 7 percent (402,000) in 2008. Three percent (224,000) made a plan in 2018, compared to 2 percent (116,000) in 2008, and 2 percent (151,000) made an attempt in 2018, compared to 1.6 percent (90,000) in 2008.

• Binge drinking, smoking (cigarettes and marijuana), illicit drug use, and prescription pain reliever misuse are more frequent among Latinx/Hispanic adults with mental illnesses.