Why Italians Can Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (And Vice Versa)
In a diverse global society and a multicultural nation like the United States, The Italian Californian seeks to build bridges and foster meaningful connections with other ethnic and cultural communities, including Hispanic and Latino Americans. The overlapping celebration of National Italian American Heritage Month (October 1-31) and Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) offers an ideal opportunity to highlight the shared history, cultural bonds, and even genetic ties that unite Italian Americans and Latin Americans. This confluence isn't just a coincidence but a reflection of the deep connections between these communities, making it meaningful to celebrate both heritage months together.
Additionally, for the purposes of this article, we will refer to Hispanic Heritage Month as Latino or Latin American Heritage Month to acknowledge the cultural and linguistic diversity within Latin America. Many Latin American countries, including Brazil, have racial and ethnic diversity and speak languages other than Spanish, such as Portuguese, reinforcing the shared heritage between these groups.
Why We Have Heritage Months
Heritage Months in the U.S. were created to highlight the contributions of ethnic groups that have shaped the country but were often left out of textbooks and popular culture. These months aren’t about dividing people but about recognizing the unique histories and cultures that make up America. Italians, like other groups, advocated for their own heritage month to ensure their contributions to the country are honored.
Today, nearly every ethnic group has its own heritage month, from Irish to Asian to Italian, as a way of ensuring their histories are shared and respected. However, it’s important to remember that while these months celebrate distinct cultures, they also highlight the ways in which all Americans are connected.
Italians and Latin America: A Shared History
Italians have had a profound influence on Latin America. Italian navigator Christopher Columbus opened the Americas to European colonization, and Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continents were named, was also Italian. Italian influence didn’t stop there. Today, millions of Italians and their descendants live in Latin American countries, especially in Argentina and Brazil, which have large Italian communities. São Paulo, Brazil, has the largest Italian community outside of Italy and New York City.
Despite the complex racial and cultural makeup of Latin America, many Latin Americans are connected by a shared heritage rooted in European colonization, including Italian influence. Brazil, for example, speaks Portuguese, but it is still often grouped under the broader “Latino” label along with other Spanish-speaking countries.
The article approaches this topic from an Italian-American perspective, exploring the connection between Italy and Latin America, which extends beyond exploration and into colonization. Italians ruled Spain through the Romans, and later, Spain ruled parts of Italy under the Hapsburgs and Bourbons. These historical ties created lasting connections between the two cultures.
Cultural Similarities: Family, Faith, and Food
In the United States, it's perplexing that many Italian Americans and Latin Americans/Latinos view each other as belonging to entirely different races and cultures. Even today, though small in number, there are still some racist Italian Americans who hold prejudices against our neighbors from south of the border. This mindset baffles me for several reasons.
First, Hispanic is not a race—Latin America is home to a wide range of races and cultures. Second, many Latin Americans are White, particularly those of full-blooded Spanish or Portuguese descent, as Spaniards are Caucasian. Lastly, Italian Americans and Latin Americans have so much in common, from language and cuisine to religion and family values. In fact, millions of Italians live in Latin America, making our cultural ties even stronger.
Italian and Latin American cultures share many values, most notably their focus on family, Catholic faith, and rich culinary traditions. Both groups are known for large, close-knit families, and their cuisines—marked by pasta, pizza, and similar dishes—share many common ingredients and flavors. It’s not uncommon to see Italian and Latin American communities bonded by their shared love of food, religious practices, and a deep commitment to family.
Beyond these surface similarities, there are deep connections between Italian Americans and Latin Americans, especially in places like Argentina and Brazil, where Italian communities have blended with local cultures, influencing everything from language to lifestyle.
The Immigrant Experience: Parallel Struggles
In the United States, Italian immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s faced many of the same struggles that Latino immigrants face today. Italians were viewed as “foreigners” and “undesirables,” often stereotyped as criminals. Media portrayed them as “swarthy,” dangerous, and clannish, much like how Latinos are often negatively depicted in modern media. Italians even faced the largest mass lynching in U.S. history, a reminder of the harsh treatment they endured.
Before integrating into mainstream American culture, Italians were often referred to as “Latins,” and Italian neighborhoods were known as “Latin Quarters.” Hollywood figures like Rudolph Valentino were dubbed “Latin lovers,” reinforcing this association. Over time, however, the term “Latin” became more associated with Spanish-speaking communities, although Italians share the same Roman and Latin roots.
European Connections: The Roman Empire and Beyond
The historical ties between Italians and Latin Americans run even deeper when viewed from a European perspective. The Roman Empire, at its height, spanned much of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, including the Iberian Peninsula where Spain and Portugal are today. Romans spread their language, culture, and values throughout the empire, including to Spain. Some Roman emperors, like Trajan and Hadrian, were even from Spain, further linking these two cultures.
The spread of the Latin language eventually gave birth to the Romance languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian. Anyone who speaks these languages can be considered "Latin," with Italians being the original Latins from whom this cultural and linguistic legacy began. The connection between Italy and Spain continued through the Hapsburg and Bourbon dynasties, as Spain ruled parts of Italy for centuries, cementing these shared ties.
A Unified Celebration
Given these deep-rooted historical, cultural, and linguistic connections, it’s no surprise that Italian Americans can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and Latin Americans can appreciate Italian American Heritage Month. Both groups share similar values, experiences, and even ancestry. Their histories intersect in meaningful ways, from exploration to colonization, and both communities have played significant roles in shaping the Americas.
By recognizing these connections, Italians and Latin Americans can better appreciate the shared history and celebrate each other’s contributions to the cultural tapestry of both the U.S. and Latin America. In doing so, both groups honor their unique legacies while celebrating the commonalities that unite them.
Let's delve deeper into this by exploring the Latin American countries and communities with significant Italian connections:
Since the unified nation of Italy did not yet exist during Spain's conquest and colonization of the Americas, many of the missionaries, explorers, colonizers, and even conquistadors were of what we would now consider Italian descent. Figures such as Christopher Columbus and Father Eusebio Kino are prominent examples of Italians who played key roles during this period.
Today about 25 million Brazilians of Italian descent influence daily life everywhere. Like Brazilian pizza and wine. Sao Paulo’s famed soccer club ‘Palmeiras’ was founded by Italian-Brazilians. And even that traditional Brazilian ‘goodbye’ tchao has that Italian flair.
Famous Brazilians like singer Marisa Monte, Brazilian American actress Morena Baccarin (The Endgame, NBC), and Chicago Bears field goal kicker Cairo Santos all have Italian roots.
More Italian descendants live in Brazil than in any other county outside of Italy. That’s why Sao Paulo’s ‘Italian Immigrants Day’ on February 21st is always a special occasion. " Read more here.
Argentina
According to "Italians & La Dolce Vita in Argentina" on WanderArgentina.com, "With several waves of immigrants arriving from the boot-shaped nation since Argentina won independence from Spain, it seems every second person here has an Italian surname, and of those who don’t, most will have an uncle or a grandmother hailing from Genoa, Sicily, Friuli or thereabouts.
An estimated 30 million Argentines out of the population of 45 million have at least one Italian ancestor. Visitors will notice the family resemblance as they try to avoid the flailing arms of an animated conversation on any of the narrow sidewalks of downtown Buenos Aires.
These Italian descendants refer to themselves proudly as ‘tanos,’ Lunfardo slang for Italians.
Even Argentina’s beloved Pope Frances’ father was from Italy and he grew up speaking Italian.
Argentina may have been colonized by the Spanish originally, but it is fair to say that the Italians had an equal, if not even greater influence, over many areas of Argentine life, such as politics, food, fashion and language.." Read more here.
And according to Italian-Argentinean culture: that’s amore! on SouthAmericaWineGuide.com, "There’s no other South American country that is quite so… Italian. Clorrie Yeomans explores the Italian connection in Argentina, and discovers how Italian culture has influenced the language, cuisine and customs of Argentina.
"If you have been to Argentina, then you might have wondered, ‘Why do Argentineans eat so much pizza and pasta?’ Or ‘Why are there so many Argentinean words which don’t exist in standard Spanish?’ Argentina is commonly considered to be the most European country in Latin America, due to mass immigration during the late 19th and 20th century. However, there is a common preconception that Argentinean culture is primarily influenced by Spanish culture. In reality, if you visit Argentina, then you will notice that there is a huge Italian influence which has enriched their national identity." Read more here.
Mexico and the American Southwest
As said above, many of the explorers, missionaries, and colonizers of the Americas were of Italian descent, though they worked under the flags of other nations, most notably France and Spain. One was Fr Eusebio Kino, a priest born in modern day Trentino-Alto-Adige that set up missions across northern Mexico and what is now Arizona. He is famous for defending the Indigenous peoples from being enslaved in the Spanish mines. There are statues of Fr. Kino in Washington, DC, Tucson, Arizona, and Tijuana, Mexico. Not to mention in other parts of Mexico and back in Italy itself. You can learn more about Fr. Eusebio Kino in the following links:
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In California, there were Italians in Los Angeles even when it was a Spanish colony. Like Giovanni Battista Leandri who owned Rancho Los Coyotes in present-day Buena Park, and the neighboring Rancho Cañada de la Habra, and married Maria Francesca Uribe, the daughter of a prominent Californio family. (The Californios were Spanish-speaking people of Latin American ancestry who were born in California during the era of Mexican and Spanish rule. During this era, Italians and Mexicans intermarried more frequently than any other group, according to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles at IAMLA.org and at their permanent online exhibit here.) Leandri changed his name to Juan Leandry to better fit in among the Californios.
Garibaldi in Latin America: A Legacy of Revolution
Giuseppe Garibaldi, the famous Italian revolutionary, played a significant role not only in the unification of Italy but also in the liberation movements of Latin America. His passion for freedom and republican ideals took him far from Europe to the shores of South America, where he became a symbol of resistance and heroism. Following in his footsteps, Garibaldi’s son and grandson also left their marks on the region, particularly in Mexico.
Garibaldi's Role in South America
In the early 1830s, Garibaldi fled to South America after being sentenced to death in Italy for his involvement in the failed uprising led by Giuseppe Mazzini. He arrived in Brazil in 1836 and soon became involved in the Ragamuffin War (1835–1845), a republican rebellion in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Garibaldi, along with his Brazilian wife, Anita, fought with the rebels, both on land and at sea. His naval command skills and daring exploits earned him a reputation as a fearless leader.
Later, in Uruguay, Garibaldi joined the struggle against Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas and fought in defense of the Uruguayan Republic during the Uruguayan Civil War (1839–1851). His Italian Legion, formed of exiled Italians, played a decisive role in the defense of Montevideo against superior Argentine forces, further cementing Garibaldi’s legacy as a liberator.
Garibaldi’s Son: Menotti in South America and Mexico
Garibaldi’s son, Ricciotti Garibaldi, continued his father’s revolutionary legacy. While Ricciotti became more involved in military campaigns in Europe, his own son, Menotti Garibaldi, named after Giuseppe’s close associate Ciro Menotti, made his mark in Mexico. The Garibaldi family maintained its commitment to republicanism and revolutionary ideals across borders.
Menotti Garibaldi fought in various European conflicts alongside his father but also spent time in Latin America, where the Garibaldi name carried significant influence. His presence in Mexico, where he supported reformist and republican causes, is notable, particularly during times of political instability.
Garibaldi’s Grandson: Peppino Garibaldi in Mexico
Peppino Garibaldi, Giuseppe’s grandson, also left a profound impact on Latin America, particularly in Mexico. In the early 20th century, during the Mexican Revolution, Peppino traveled to Mexico and joined the forces of revolutionary leaders like Francisco Madero. He quickly gained recognition for his leadership and bravery, rising to the rank of general in the revolutionary army. His participation in key battles during the revolution highlighted the continued commitment of the Garibaldi family to the cause of freedom and republicanism.
Peppino's contributions were so significant that Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City is named in honor of the Garibaldi family, celebrating their legacy of revolution and independence both in Europe and Latin America.
Conclusion
The Garibaldis, from Giuseppe to his descendants, embodied the spirit of revolution and republicanism not only in Italy but across the world. Giuseppe’s adventures in South America laid the foundation for his family’s continued involvement in the liberation movements of Latin America and Mexico. Their contributions remain a testament to the enduring struggle for freedom and justice across borders.
