National Hispanic Awareness Month by Juliana Aragon Fatula

Dear Reader,

My godparents and my little sister, Lynette's godparents
 circa 1959,  Southern Colorado

Cast of Su Teatro production of 1995 Intro to Chicano History 101
written by Anthony J. Garcia

In October1995, I travelled to Sicily, los Azores, the UAE, and the island of Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean with the Latin Locomotions for the Department of Defense to entertain the troops for Hispanic Awareness Month. 

I graduated from Colorado State University Pueblo in 2008. I was 50. During that time I travelled to San Antonio with las mujeres unidas de CSU Pueblo to a HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) conference for Hispanic Awareness Month and met lots of mi gente and fell in love with San Anton. 

Here I am all these years later I'm a member of the Macondo Writers Foundation based in San Antonio, I'm a published writer and have friends through out the country who are writers. 

I don't consider myself Hispanic, that is a government label given to Latinos. I'm Chicana and I despise the term Hispanic but since it's Hispanic Awareness Month let's just use it for now. Maybe someday we'll get to use a different label, Latinx Awareness Month. 

So here are a list of Latinx writers in no particular order that have inspired me to become a master writer. 

Denise Chavez
Sandra Cisneros
Lucha Corpi
Gloria Anzaldüa
Adela Najarro
Ana Castillo
Brenda Cardenas
Carmen Tafolla
Cherrie L. Moraga
Emmy Perez
Evalina Fernandez
Francisco Aragon
Fred Arroyo
Jessica Helen Lopez
Lisa Chavez
Manuel Ramos
Mario Acevedo
Norma Elia Cantu
Pat Alderete
Reyna Grande
Rodney Gomez
Sheryl Luna
Tim Z. Hernandez
Liz Gonzalez
Lorna Dee Cervantes
and Aimée Medina Carr's novel, River of Love with Homebound Publications. 

Please consider reading some of these Latinx writers during the month of October and tell them Juliana, the Crazy Chicana in Catholic City, sent you. 

And if I forgot to mention your name in my list, I'll catch you next year.