CNSP Hosts Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

Photo By Joseph Millar | 180927-N-SB299-1023 CORONADO, Calif. (Sept. 27, 2018) Legalman 2nd Class Angelica Rubio, diversity committee organizer, bows her head in prayer during a Hispanic Heritage month ceremony she helped organize for the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNSP) at Naval Amphibious Base San Diego. Each year, the month-long observance from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 celebrates the culture, history and contributions of citizens from Spain, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alex Millar)  

CORONADO, CA, UNITED STATES

09.27.2018

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Millar 

Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- The staff of Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNSP) honored Hispanic Heritage Month with a celebration Sept. 27.

Each year, the month-long observance from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 celebrates the culture, history and contributions of citizens from Spain, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking nations. This year's theme was: "One Endless Voice to Enhance Our Traditions."

“They have enhanced and shaped our national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community,” said Chief Yeoman Michele Martin, a member of the diversity committee, during her opening remarks at the celebration. “Today, thousands of Hispanic-American Service members throughout the world are protecting our nation and we will continue to honor our Hispanic community, military and civilians for their significant contributions.”

Those contributions included the actions of Seaman John Ortega, aboard the USS Saratoga during the Civil War in 1863, where he was assigned to a landing party that successfully captured many prisoners and took substantial amounts of ordnance, ammunition, and supplies, that awarded him the medal of honor. They also include an expanded understanding of what makes a ‘family.’

“I believe in the power of family,” said Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Joe Espinosa III, the force medical corpsman for CNSP and guest speaker at the ceremony. “Growing up as a Hispanic-American boy in Los Angeles, my view of family was very different than the rest of my classmates. For example, Christmas was always a time of year where my entire family got together. When I say all of us get together we are talking about upwards of 150 people all crammed together at my grandmother’s house. These were the people I considered my immediate family. Once I joined the Navy and I couldn’t spend holidays with my family. I started to realize my shipmates were my family.”

The ceremony concluded with remarks from Capt. Christopher Engdahl, CNSP chief of staff, and a variety of ethnic food.

America's official Hispanic heritage observance started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. On Aug. 17, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation that expanded the official observance to the current month-long celebration.

“The Navy celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month to honor and pay tribute to present and past service members who identify themselves as Hispanic,” said Legalman 2nd Class Angelica Rubio, a member of the diversity committee and an organizer for the event. “The Navy is metaphorically a melting pot of different people who come together for a united cause. Hispanic Heritage Special Observance is a day when 'we,’ the Hispanic population, share a little bit of our world and contribution to society.

For more news from Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit www.public.navy.mil/surfor or follow the Surface Force at
www.facebook.com/SurfaceWarriors; and on Twitter @surfacewarriors.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Surface Forces, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnsp/.

• Date Taken: 09.27.2018
• Date Posted: 09.27.2018 17:22
• Story ID: 294693
• Location: CORONADO, CA, US