What better way to celebrate the beauty of Hispanic culture than with tasty food, exciting music, and fun dancing?

In the United States, more than 43 million people speak Spanish as a first language, and the U.S. is home to nearly 12 million bilingual Spanish speakers.

Families have been celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month since 1989. Americans celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month by exploring cultures, histories and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Exploring cultures through the rhythm and sounds of music is a great way to ignite all areas of child development, including intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. Music helps the body and the mind work together.

Teach your child about Hispanic culture as a family, by learning through music and games. Visit the ¡Vamos! GoNoodle Channel for activities, videos, and games!

Here are 10 unique ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this year.

1. Make Your Very Own Latin Musical Instrument

Think outside the box! Help your kids create their very own Latin musical instrument using items found around the house. Use GoNoodle downloadable activity sheets to make your very own Latin musical instrument, such as a maracas, pandeiro, and drums.

These are all percussion instruments, meaning they make a sound when they are hit, shaken, or scraped. Maracas are typically made in the form of a hollow gourd, filled with dried beans, and played in pairs by being shaken. The pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum popular in Brazil that looks like a tambourine. Conga, cojon and bongo are just a few of the types of drums found in Latin-inspired music. So much fun to make and play!

2. Form a Family Band

After your family makes their own instruments, use your creativity and get silly putting together your family band! Read about flamenco and then make your own beautiful fan to use in your act or play your pandeiro after designing a costume for Carnival!

When your family band is ready, play along to one of GoNoodle’s videos such as Enmoción Freeze, Celebrar, or La Ensalada. Then, submit the video for GoNoodle’s Making The Band: Family Band Style contest. Two winners will receive a $250 VISA gift card each!

3. Cook a Classic Latin American Dish Together

There are so many delicious recipes from which to choose! Try these kid-friendly recipes for pupusas from El Salvador, or tacos, quesadillas, and salsa from Mexico. Mexican popsicles known as paletas are an easy treat to make at home. The main ingredients are water, sugar, lime juice, and fresh fruit, but you can customize them however you’d like - even with Nutella!

4. Perform a Sing-Along as a Family

Download one of our eight sing-along sheets and cantar your heart out to a GoNoodle Spanish-language video on ¡Vamos! en Español! Belt out fun family favorites such as Celebrar, Freeze!, and Guacamole. After you learn to make your own drums or maracas, use them during the family sing-along!

5. Support a Hispanic or Latin-owned Business

It’s always a good idea to support your community by shopping locally. This month, look for Latin-owned businesses when shopping for tasty food, handmade jewelry, curly hair care and other products. Use a directory from Support Latino Business or HispanicYa!, where you can find Hispanic/Latino businesses, events, bloggers, and more! Find goods on ShopLatinX, the leading beauty, fashion, and lifestyle e-commerce site, designed by and made for Latinas. Check your local Latin chamber of commerce for businesses in your area!

6. Create a Family Dance on Tik Tok

During the pandemic, lots of families had fun creating dance videos on Tik Tok. For Hispanic Heritage Month, find a GoNoodle song your family loves, such as Que Dijiste, film a fun video singing and dancing along to the song, and post it on Tik Tok, tagging us @gonoodle!

7. Make a Playlist of Hispanic Artists

It’s fun to celebrate Latin culture with music! Have your kids help you create a playlist of family friendly Latin music like ​​Taco Tuesday by Lucky Diaz & The Family Jam Band, Balloon Fest by Ozomatli, and ¡Alegría! by Sonia De Los Santos. You can also introduce kids to family friendly versions of songs by your favorite Hispanic artists, such as Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Camila Cabello. Go on Spotify or Apple Music to find new artists too. And check out GoNoodle playlists on your favorite music app!

8. Play GoNoodle Games Súper Rufus Súper Soccer With Your Kids

Súper Rufus loves to play soccer! In GoNoodle Games Súper Rufus Súper Soccer, you are the goalie trying to stop the soccer balls to keep Súper Rufus from scoring by waving your hands and moving your body. This free game is part of a suite of 10 other GoNoodle Games that you can download for iOS or for Android. Perfect for kids and families on the go! Play the game together and then sing and dance along to “I Love Soccer”. You can never have too much soccer or Súper Rufus! Afterwards, you can all watch a soccer match together as a family. Or better yet, get outside and practice your mad soccer skills, using this 5 minute soccer/football skills video as your guide. Perfect for your budding player!!

9. Take a Dance Class:

There are so many fun dances, like the Mambo, rumba, cha-cha, or flamenco that you can try with your kids. You can take a dance class together at a studio, or online with a SalsaNerd course.

10. Visit a Museum Highlighting Hispanic and Latino Culture:

Chicago has the National Museum of Mexican Art and the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, and Washington, D.C. has the Smithsonian's Latino Center. If your city doesn’t offer an in-person experience, the Library of Congress has a great online resource for National Hispanic Heritage Month, and so does the Smithsonian.

The theme of the 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month observance is “Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope.”

Victor Anthony Zertuche, Attorney-Advisor at U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency, submitted the winning theme, stating:

“The past year has been one unlike any in recent memory. For so many of us our lives have changed; we've celebrated life's milestones at home or spent holidays alone. But despite how our world has changed, we've kept our eyes on the horizon--we've held onto our hope. This theme celebrates our Hispanic heritage and our resilience. It provides us the opportunity to reflect on those who came before us and held onto hope to create a better tomorrow. It inspires us to recognize that we are stronger together and reminds us that although we are apart, with hope, we are not alone.”

The theme invites us to celebrate Hispanic Heritage and to reflect on how great our tomorrow can be if we hold onto our resilience and hope. It encourages us to reflect on all of the contributions Hispanics have made in the past, and will continue to make in the future. It is also a reminder that we are stronger together.

How wonderful for our children to learn about their own cultures, and celebrate those of their loved ones and peers. Have fun celebrating the contributions of Hispanic Americans with your children this year through art, music, food and dance. GoNoodle is proud to celebrate the richness and beauty of Latin culture with all of your families.

Did you know:

• September 15th is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
• September 16th is Mexican Independence day.
• September 18th is Chilean Independence Day.
• The Hispanic Heritage observance began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson, and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15th and ending on October 15th.
• The U.S. has more than 43 million Spanish speakers and is home to nearly 12 million bilingual Spanish speakers.
• El Día de Muertos, or the Mexican Day of the Dead Festival, shares similarities with Halloween, including some similar practices, from decorating with pictures of skeletons, to ghoulishly shaped sweets.
• As of July 1, 2019, the Hispanic population of the U.S. was 60.6 million people, making people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or racial minority (18.5% of the total U.S. population).
• The US has the 2nd largest population of Hispanic people in the world, second only Mexico.
• In 2018, 1.28 million Hispanics were Veterans of the US Armed Forces
• In 2018, 4.65 million businesses in the U.S. were Hispanic-owned