Hispanic Heritage Month

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month we are highlighting a few of our colleagues so that you can get to know their backgrounds and interests! Hispanic Heritage Month runs through October 15th. Enjoy! 

MABEL COLON

HHM allows me to reflect on my cultural traditions, my family, my upbringing, the opportunities I have because I am bilingual and the fact there’s still so much more to learn about my history. Both of my parents were born and raised in Puerto Rico – with a combined 23 siblings! HHM takes me back to all the summers I spent in Puerto Rico as a child and young adult immersed in every aspect of what it means to be Puerto Rican. It allows me to reflect on the struggles my parents faced and overcame as they created a new life in a random, small city of Massachusetts on their own. It’s a time to show my appreciation to my parents for their sacrifices to make life what it is now for my brother and me.

There is nothing better than a plate of arroz con gandules, chuletas, alcapurrias and platanos maduro with a side of jugo de parcha and some old-school salsa music playing in the background, surrounded by my family deep in the mountains of PR!

RAFIS NIN

Pictures of my beautiful fishing village, Bay Village (Dominican Republic), where I grew up to the age of 13.

MARIA RUIZ

Hispanic Heritage Awareness Month to me means to honor our respective cultures and our history in celebration (in family gatherings, through food, dance, worship, play, etc.) . 

I am so proud to be a Latina! I was taught that we are passionate, strong, smart, determined, fun, ambitious and loyal.   

Fun facts about me:

• I was born in a small barrio — Las Palms, in Medellin, Colombia. (Most of my family is still there). 
• My mother moved my sister and I to Connecticut was I was 5.  She met my step-father quickly after (Puerto Rican) and bam! Love at first sight meant we became a blended family.  😉
• I grew up on salsa music and traditional Colombian and Puerto Rican food. We have very humble beginnings and I’m forever grateful that my mother made the brave decision to leave the only life she knew to a country where she had no one so that my sister and I would have a successful future.  

My childhood neighborhood.

The typical Colombian plate: a “Bandeja Paisa.” It includes: white rice, kidney beans, steak, a fried egg, avocado, sweet plantains, chorizo (sausage), chicharrón (pork rinds) and an arepa (Colombian cornmeal bread). This meal one of my favorites! It’s delicious but, most of all, nostalgic.  

My loving parents – you can tell my dad is a proud Puerto Rican. 

ANONYMOUS

This is my photo for Dia de los Muertos. I’ll put my loved ones’ photos up and a few of their favorite foods and drinks out on Halloween day, so they can come down and party with us for a few nights.