Every September, Hispanic Heritage Month and Deaf Awareness Month create an important opportunity to recognize communities whose histories, cultures, and contributions are too often simplified or overlooked.
National Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15 and continues through October 15. Deaf Awareness Month is observed throughout September. Their overlap invites us to think more deeply about people who are both Hispanic or Latine and Deaf, DeafBlind, or hard of hearing, and about the many ways language shapes identity, culture, and belonging.
This intersection matters because no one experiences the world through only one part of who they are. Deaf Hispanic and Latine people do not leave their cultural identities behind when they enter Deaf spaces, nor do they stop being Deaf when they enter hearing-centered cultural or family spaces. Their experiences are shaped by both identities at once, along with race, gender, immigration history, nationality, class, and other parts of who they are.
Language Is More Than Communication
Language is often treated as a practical tool: a way to exchange information, ask a question, or give an answer. But language also carries humor, memory, tradition, and connection. It can shape how people relate to their families, understand their histories, and find community.
For Deaf Hispanic and Latine people, language may include American Sign Language, Spanish, English, another national or regional sign language, Indigenous languages, home signs, or a combination of languages and communication styles. There is no single Deaf experience, just as there is no single Hispanic or Latine experience.
It is also important to remember that sign language is not universal. Deaf communities around the world have their own sign languages, each with distinct histories and cultural contexts. Even within a single sign language, regional and cultural variations can develop. Language is living, and it reflects the people who use it.
This can be seen in Deaf West Theatre’s signed performance of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto. The production featured an all-Deaf Colombian and Latinx cast and combined American Sign Language with elements of Colombian Sign Language. The result was more than a translation of spoken words. It was a cultural interpretation shaped by Deaf and Latine artists.
When Access Does Not Reflect the Whole Person
Language access is not meaningful if it recognizes only one part of someone’s identity.
A Deaf person may be offered information in written English even when English is not their strongest written language. A Spanish-speaking family may receive an interpreter for spoken Spanish but no access to accurate, culturally responsive information about Deaf culture or signed languages. A Deaf Latine person may enter a Hispanic cultural space where events are not interpreted or captioned, then enter a Deaf space where their racial, national, or linguistic identity is not fully understood.
These gaps can create more than inconvenience. They can affect access to education, healthcare, employment, civic participation, cultural traditions, and relationships with family and community.
Too often, institutions expect people to adapt to systems that were never designed with them in mind. A more just approach asks institutions to adapt. It recognizes that communication access cannot be reduced to a single accommodation added at the last moment. Access must consider the languages people use, the cultures they belong to, and the ways they choose to communicate.
Culture, Identity, and the Right to Belong
Both Hispanic Heritage Month and Deaf Awareness Month are about more than awareness. They are opportunities to celebrate culture, leadership, creativity, and community knowledge.
For many Deaf people, Deaf identity is not defined solely by hearing levels or a medical diagnosis. It can also be connected to a shared language, history, culture, and community. The World Federation of the Deaf describes national sign languages as fundamental to Deaf people’s human rights. This framing reminds us that language access is not a favor. It is part of a person’s right to participate fully in society.
The same attention must be given to the diversity within Hispanic and Latine communities. Broad labels cannot capture the distinct histories and experiences of people with roots in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America, South America, Spain, and many other places. Racial identity, Indigenous identity, migration, geography, and language all shape what culture and belonging mean to each person.
Honoring people at this intersection requires making room for that complexity. It means allowing individuals to name themselves, describe their own identities, and communicate in the languages that feel most natural to them.
Moving From Awareness to Inclusion
Organizations can begin by asking more thoughtful questions: Who is missing from this event, program, or conversation? Are Deaf Hispanic and Latine people involved in planning and decision-making? Are captions and qualified sign language interpreters included from the beginning? Is information available in the languages community members actually use? Have we assumed that one format or one language will work for everyone?
Meaningful inclusion also means investing in Deaf Hispanic and Latine leadership. It means hiring community members, compensating them for their expertise, supporting Deaf-led organizations and creators, and making space for stories that reflect joy and creativity as well as barriers.
As Hispanic Heritage Month and Deaf Awareness Month overlap, we can celebrate the people who hold both identities without asking them to divide themselves into separate parts. We can recognize that language is culture, access is belonging, and every community is stronger when people can show up as their whole selves.
This month, and throughout the year, let us listen to Deaf Hispanic and Latine people in the languages and forms of communication they choose. Let us honor their cultures, follow their leadership, and help build spaces where no one has to choose between access and belonging.
You can download an accompanying resource guide here.
