A look at Hispanic Heritage in Waco and abroad

WACO, Texas ( FOX 44 ) – We’re more than halfway through Hispanic Heritage Month, and the Hispanic Leaders Network is devoted to engaging the community by sharing the beauty of their culture and reconnecting with their roots.

The Network’s Iliana Newmann says there was a time in Waco where in order to be successful you needed to blend in and assimilate. She believes now we’re in a better place.

“Our community has been through a lot, and really tough times. But it’s a community that’s founded on strength and resilience, because what we bring to the table would bring to the bigger community is again, a tradition of strength, resilience, family, love, acceptance. This isn’t about one community being better than the other. This is about all of us having gifts to share,” Newmann explains.

She says the culture contributes even more love and energy to the community, and is something they welcome everybody to.

Another well known contributor to the Hispanic community is the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC . This organization was founded in 1929, making it the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the U.S. The League was created at a time in our country’s history when Hispanics were denied basic civil and human rights, despite contributions to American society.

Locally, the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce strives to unite the Hispanic community here in Central Texas. Since their origin in 1975, Chamber members and volunteers join to focus on promoting the economic, educational, and social development of the business community in Waco and Central Texas abroad.

The Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, or HWNT , has been supporting Texas Hispanic women since 1987. Beginning in Dallas, the organization has been involved in the mobilization of hundreds of women seeking to make a difference in their respective communities. Decades later, HWNT members continue creating positive change through volunteer programs and partnerships advancing educational, cultural, social and economic needs.

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