Precinct One Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Precinct One celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting some of the many outstanding Hispanic leaders in our community.

Every year across the US, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. This celebration started in 1968 with Hispanic Heritage Week and was expanded to a month in 1988.

During this month, we take the opportunity to share the rich history and the past and present accomplishments of Hispanic and Latino Americans.  We look forward to celebrating this diverse culture and community while recognizing the need for racial equity while amplifying Hispanic voices.

Over the next 30 days, we will be highlighting some of the many Hispanic leaders in our community. We know we could never highlight all of them, so feel free to follow along with us on social media and shout out some of your Hispanic heroes using the hashtag #HispanicHeritageMonth2021. 

Isabel Longoria

Last year Harris County created an Office of the Election Administrator and appointed Isabel Longoria to lead it. Longoria has served her hometown Houston in various roles. She has worked for elected officials in different levels of government, served on Houston’s Planning Commission, the boards of the League of Women’s Voters and the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory and served as special advisor at the Clerk’s Office for voting rights and access. Longoria is now in charge of making sure our elections are safe, accessible, and fair. You can listen to our interview with her on the #OneForAll podcast.

Hugo Ortega

If you have ever had the pleasure of eating at Houston’s Backstreet Café, Hugo’s, Caracoal or Xochi then you have experienced the hard work and critically acclaimed food of today’s honoree. Hugo Ortega is a chef and the co-owner of four prominent restaurants in Houston. Ortega was born in Mexico City and is passionate about sharing his traditional foods with our community.












Gwendolyn Zepeda

In 2013, Houston named its first poet laureate Gwendolyn Zepeda. Zepeda is an author who has seen a wide range of success; from short stories & poems, to novels & a long standing blog. Zepeda is thought to be the first Latina blogger.



Óscar Boniek García

In Houston we are proud to have some of the world’s best athletes and teams. Óscar Boniek García is a senior midfielder who has played for our Houston Dynamo FC since 2013. Boniek García has competed in two World Cup’s for his home country Honduras and teamed up with a group of MLS players to help Hondurans recover after Hurricane Eta. A teammate on and off the field, and a leader for his team and our community. We are proud to have Óscar Boniek García in Houston.

GONZO247

Art plays an important role in not only Houston’s culture, but culture as a whole. Mario E. Figueroa, Jr. or GONZO247 as he is known in the art world, is a Houston artist who has been commissioned to paint walls all over our city including at the George R Brown Convention Center. GONZO247 uses graffiti and street art to inspire and communicate with our community.

Bryan Parras

Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, or t.e.j.a.s, is an organization that was founded by Bryan Parras and his father in 2002 and is dedicated to equipping community members with the tools they need to make their communities sustainable and environmentally healthy. On top of continuing to be a board member of t.e.j.a.s., Bryan Parras is a Health Communities Gulf Coast Organizer for the Sierra Club and is constantly speaking up for the marginalized communities that suffer the most from the environmental issues he is working to remedy.

Linda Morales

Linda Morales has a long history of community advocacy and organizing. She has served as a legislative aide in the Texas Senate and the House of Representatives, she helped found the Latino Lesbian Gay Organization (LLEGO), she is a former president of the Mexican-American Democrats, and has been an outspoken leader in several other organizations that promote human dignity and equal rights. Since 2015, Linda Morales has been the Organizing Coordinator for Texas Gulf Coast AFL-CIO which represents around 60,000 union members in our region and is the Harris County Gulf Coast Chapter President for Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA).  
You can learn more about all her incredible work here: https://www.harrishealth.org/about-us-hh/board/Pages/linda-morales.aspx

The Honorable Nata Cornelio

Judge Nata Cornelio serves Harris County in the 351st District Court and is one of only two Latinas on our criminal courts. She has previously worked as a federal public defender who brought quality representation to individuals who could not afford it. Judge Cornelio is a public servant who works diligently to provide justice for everyone and uses her knowledge and experience to move our justice system forward.   Nata is only one of two Latina's on the Harris County Criminal bench.

Daniel Anguilu

From helping people get around as a METRO train driver, to painting murals across the city, Daniel Anguilu may know Houston better than most Houstonians. Anguili moved to Houston from Mexico when he was a teenager and he says that his art allowed him to communicate when he didn’t speak much English yet. Anguilu has painted about 100 murals across Houston and has worked with major companies like Adidas and Pepsi. Anguili says he is inspired by his passengers and uses geometric shapes, bright colors, and elements from his Mexican culture.You can check out his work here: https://www.instagram.com/daniel_anguilu/?hl=en

Ana Mac Naught

Ana Mac Naught has studies and worked all over the world and most recently brought her expertise to Houston as the Director of Coordination at Houston In Action, an initiative that gets people and organizations to work together to move our community forward. Mac Naught has helped communities in Houston and beyond overcome systemic barriers and live happy, healthy lives.

 

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