Hemisphere Media Group Honors Hispanic Heritage Month with Multinetwork Commemorative Campaign, #OrgulloHispano365

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the annual four-week long celebration beginning on September 15th, Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. (HMTV) is marking the occasion by recognizing the distinct yet interconnected histories, cultures, and contributions of the nation’s largest minority group.

Making up roughly 18% of the population, Hispanic/Latino influence on U.S. culture is profound: from cuisine, music, sports, literature, and art to language, legislation, governance, media, and leadership, Hispanic/Latino Americans have made important, substantial contributions to shaping the nation’s social fabric. Yet despite their extensive impact, within the U.S., the Hispanic/Latino community is often neglected as a consumer segment and their linguistic and cultural differences overlooked. As a result, U.S.-based Hispanic/Latinos are frequently grouped—and treated—monolithically. With more needing to be done on this front, and in keeping with its commitment to acknowledge, honor, and cater to the specific needs and interests of various subgroups within the Hispanic/Latino population, HMTV has leveraged its five U.S. Hispanic cable networks, Cinelatino, Pasiones, CentroAméricaTV, Televisión Dominicana and WAPA América, as well as its digital platform, the leading U.S. Spanish-language subscription streaming service, Pantaya, to create a multinetwork campaign celebrating the unique experiences of both Hispanic/Latino individuals and the numerous segments that make up the sum of the larger community. Building off last year’s #OrgulloHispano365 initiative, the campaign goes one step further than the standard celebratory fare, calling attention to the fact that for Hispanics/Latinos and other marginalized communities, the pride felt for culture and heritage is an integral and regular part of daily life, not easily packaged or commodified within specialized months highlighting these groups during a limited window of time. #OrgulloHispano365 seeks to symbolically address and break through this narrow approach to appreciation and acknowledgement, in this case, specifically of the Hispanic/Latino community, while still embracing and celebrating the overall spirit of the month.

The on-air centerpiece of this year’s #OrgulloHispano365 campaign is “SOMOS,” a poem by Mexican American writer, advocate, and entrepreneur Kim Guerra, which speaks to the strength, diversity and resilience of a distinct people connected through shared heritage, language, traditions, and cultural pride. Read by a mix of popular Hispanic/Latino talent from Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico—including Carlos Ponce, Angelica Vale, Jaime Mayol, Frank Perozo, Ximena Córdoba, Zoe Navarro, Ricardo Garcia, Gaby Espino, and others—the poem is an embodiment of the variety, richness, and joy found within the many different faces and facets of the Hispanic/Latino community.  

Additionally, throughout the month-long celebration, the networks will feature a commemorative on-air logo and graphics package further emphasizing the cultural pride promoted and instilled by each of the HMTV brands. Promotional efforts will also include special platform-specific messages from talent who, in their own words, will speak to what it means to be Hispanic/Latino and the ties that bind the community together.

“Our goal continues to be amplifying and promoting Hispanic/Latino narratives and voices with the nuance they deserve. Not only do we aim to cultivate awareness and appreciation of the individual segments within the larger community, we seek to offer representation, providing these linked yet unique groups a connection to their specific cultures, traditions and interests through our content and programming,” said Alan J. Sokol, President and CEO of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. “The Hispanic/Latino community that exists today is more diverse and robust than ever before. There are multiple generations, multiple identities and backgrounds, and of course, a growing population of U.S.-born Hispanics/Latinos all existing within and navigating a society that often doesn’t recognize what their very different experiences entail or the distinct interests and needs they create. And while these are all influenced by countries of origin, by ancestry, by traditions and roots, their interests and needs are also impacted by their experiences in this country. Ultimately, treating this community as homogenous—and celebrating it as such—is an erasure of the richness found within it. So, while we continue to applaud the recognition and acknowledgment of the many Hispanic/Latino innovators, leaders, and trailblazers, and view the honoring of the community at large as a valuable endeavor, we look forward to a day when this recognition is a matter of course woven into the every-day of U.S. life, and a special month becomes a bonus. That’s what we seek to do at Hemisphere; to commemorate Latino heritage and contributions every day. We extend our thanks to our viewers and partners for allowing us the opportunity to do so.”

In addition to Hispanic Heritage Month, Hemisphere’s CentroAméricaTV will be celebrating the Central American Bicentennial with special cultural programming. The Bicentennial marks 200 years since various countries in the region—including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica—took their first steps towards independence from colonization, an act which ultimately changed the course of history. Apart from Panama, the aforementioned countries each signed their declaration of Independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.

“We’re proud to commemorate this and other culturally critical celebrations that bring joy and an immense sense of pride to our viewers,” said Sokol.