Episode #140: "I Have SOMETHING To Say" Hispanic Heritage Monthly Musings with Chris Majocha

<p>It’s apparently time to break out the maracas, guitars, drums, and red lipstick.</p> <p>In this “Monthly Musings” episode of I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY my dear co-Producer Chris Majocha weighs in on my rant about how Hispanic Heritage Month is clearly around the corner because Latina/Latino/Latine/Hispanic/Latinx artists, performers, book authors, and leaders are visibly busy securing gigs and answering the calls of corporations, government officials and nonprofit giants.</p> <p>I call them “gigs” because by definition they are <span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 36)">job opportunities that last a specified period of time – only some compensated with money, most bartered for “exposure”.</span></p> <p><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 36)">For a total of four weeks weirdly nestled between two months (September 15 through October 15) we have a chance to highlight Hispanic Heritage, under the historical context that celebrations of the independence of several Latin American countries occur during this timeframe.</span></p> <p><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 36)">And after this, there’s much of nada going on. In this episode, we go over the 2020 Census numbers that demonstrate that we don’t need exposure and access to opportunities ONLY during four weeks.</span></p> <p><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 36)">People who identify as </span>Latina/Latino/Latine/Hispanic/Latinx<span data-ogsc= "rgb(32, 33, 36)"> are one-fifth of the U.S. population (all of these terms are confusing, I know, it’s by design – the labeling of humans).</span></p> <p><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 36)">The non-White population data also reflects that we are having more babies (U.S. Census) within and outside our culture (Pew Research), leading the next wave of workers (U.S. Dept of Labor), boosting the economy through entrepreneurship (Latino Business Action Network), and figuring out how to build generational wealth through homeownership (NAHREP).</span></p> <p><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 36)">Data don’t lie. We just need to start exercising our power, influence,