When I walked through the doors of the main entrance, I was greeted by a man named Tomás, who identified himself as a “piragüero,” which is a person who serves the traditional Puerto Rican dessert that comes in the shape of a cone and is a frozen treat usually sold during summertime. The event took place at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium on 62nd Street from 7-9 p.m. 21, I went to what can only be described as an indoor block party hosted by television host and spokesperson Rhina Valentin, with special guest star, Emmy Award-winning actress and author Sonia Manzano. With upcoming events on campus and around the city organized to celebrate those of Hispanic and Latine heritage - the latter being a gender-neutral term intended to encompass the identities of all members of the community - I made it my goal to attend at least one to learn about what it means to be a Latine person creating in the artistic realm. This year, however, I found myself wanting to become even more connected to my history and to learn the ways in which people in my community take up space in the arts - and there is no better month to do so. It is an immovable cloak I proudly wear that manifests itself in my lawless hair, my warm-colored skin and the way that I speak. It is not something that comes and goes in the fall that disappears into the abyss of nonexistence once Oct. For me, National Hispanic Heritage Month is every day.
