Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15 each year. The month provides space to spotlight the ongoing achievements of those from Hispanic and Latino communities. 

Below are just a few articles about how scientists from Hispanic and Latino backgrounds are finding ways to honor their heritage, preserve their language within science, and become the future faces of STEM. 

In Raising the Visibility of Latin American Science, writer Humberto Basilio explores how Latin American scientists are finding ways to publish in Spanish and Portuguese, in their native languages, and the challenge of breaking through the dominance of the "Global North" in scientific publishing. 

The YouTube series La Pola Geológica (The Geological Beer) was created by three female Colombian geoscientists: Carolina Ortiz-Guerrero, Daniela Muñoz-Granados, and Lina C. Pérez-Angel. Through their series, they chat (in Spanish) with other scientists and explore the natural world.

In 2024, Science Friday and América Futura partnered to produce the series “Astronomy: Made in Latin America” in English and Spanish. The series reflects on the struggles and successes of astronomy in Latin America, from "The feat of building the world's largest telescope" to three Latina scientists who are battling sexism in "Latina space scientists want to stop being the exception." 

The Committee on the Status of Women also featured nine students in 2024/2025 from the Cenca Bridge Program. The Central American - Caribbean Bridge in Astrophysics (Cenca Bridge) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to create and develop astronomy research opportunities in Central America and the Caribbean.

Cenca Bridge connects undergraduates from Central America and the Caribbean to mentors and advisors overseas to increase their chances of pursuing astrophysics as a profession. Every year, Cenca Bridge holds the remote internship program, where undergraduate students from the region apply to be selected for a 3-month-long paid research internship. As the only organization to provide a paid remote research internship, it is important to highlight the contributions that many women in astrophysics from Central America and the Caribbean have already contributed to our field.

Learn about the 2024/2025 Central American - Caribbean Bridge in Astrophysics (Cenca Bridge) Fellows:

Natalia Ramirez Vega (Costa Rica)
Catalina Morales-Gutiérrez (Costa Rica)
Kaylan-Marie Achong (Trinidad and Tobago)
Nicole Stephanie Mejia Cerros (Honduras)
Valeria Hurtado (Nicaragua)
Leiany De Oleo Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
Linsy Abigail Martinez Rubio (Honduras)
Thara Caba (Dominican Republic)
Lynne-Flore Simy (Haiti)

We look forward to featuring more Cenca Bridge Fellows in the future. 

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month.