What did President Reagan change about the celebration?

Ronald Reagan will be on everyone’s mind as Republican candidates head to The Great Communicator’s presidential library in Simi Valley for the second GOP primary debate. The Hispanic vote might also be on people’s mind. It’s Hispanic Heritage month and Reagan was one of the first presidential candidates to take the Latino vote seriously. How much will Hispanics be honored and recognized in the Sept. 16th GOP debate? Two candidates on the stage live in Hispanic households and have historically served those communities (Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush).

After tonight’s Reagan fest, we’ll be happy to get back to Hispanic heritage month and learning about figures like César Chávez, Sonia Sotomayor and Dolores Huerta . For now, here are 15 facts about Hispanics, Hispanic Heritage month, and Ronald Reagan.

Hispanic Heritage week was created by Lyndon Johnson in 1968 at the height of the civil rights movement.

In 1988, Ronald Reagan expanded the observance into Hispanic Heritage month , setting the dates the we observe today.

Sept. 15th - Oct. 15th isn’t a calendar month, but that 30-day period captures the independence dates of important events in Latin America.

Independence is celebrated in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on Sept. 15th; Mexico on the 16th and Chile on the 18th.

Why doesn’t Hispanic Heritage month just fit into September? For one thing, Cuban independence from Spain is celebrated on Oct. 10th. By extending the holiday, ardently anti-communist Ronald Reagan honored the island’s pre-Castro history.

Explanation: