Kissimmee and Casselberry Celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month

Down South

On September 16th, the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed September 15th through October 15th as National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Commissioner Peggy Choudhry presented and read the Proclamation to the public on October 26th at the Osceola Heritage Park during an event filled with Latin American gastronomy, music, dances and paintings. The Proclamation recognizes Hispanic Americans in the following ways:

1. We have strengthened our country and contributed to the spirit of America.
2. We have helped establish America as a place ofFreedom and Opportunity.
3. We have played an important role in shaping our national character as a people of limitless possibility through hard work, love of country and deep commitment to faith and family.
4. We comprise more than 51 percent of the population in Osceola County, reflecting an enduring truth of our Nation: regardless of origins or roots, with hard work and perseverance you can make it in America.
5. We have enriched our Nation in many ways and are part of the diversity that makes America stronger.

Up North

On September 28th, Casselberry celebrated its own recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month by hosting Casselberry’s Latin Jazz and Arts Fest at Lake Concord Park.

The festival featured art showcases by Latin American painters within the City Hall and in the Art House, food vendors offering delicacies of Latin American cuisine at the parking lot, and music performances on the main stage in front of the lake by Gilberto ‘El Niño’ García and The Latin Jazz Knights Band, The Rico Monaco Band with invited star guest Tito Puente Jr.

Both events were a recognition and celebration of the contribution we Hispanic Americans represent to our shared nation, an exaltation of the immemorable words of former Governor and Senator of New York, Herbert H. Lehman, words printed in our blue passport which we must carry in our hearts: “It is immigrants who brought to this land the skills of their hands and brains to make of it a beacon of opportunity and hope for all men.”