Editor’s Note About Our Heritage Month 2025: Sin Vergüenza

Every September, our team gathers around the same question: What does Our (Hispanic) Heritage Month mean right now? In 2025, it’s not just about celebrating who we are. It’s about recognizing how we got unapologetic about it.

I think back to the early years of my career, when I was often told to tone it down: my accent, my opinions, even the kinds of stories I wanted to pitch. Representation came with strings attached: be grateful you’re in the room, don’t make too much noise. And I believed, for a while, that assimilation was survival. But somewhere along the way, I realized that shrinking myself didn’t just erase me; it erased the generations before me who fought for me to stand taller.

Now, I see how much has shifted. A new generation refuses to dilute themselves to fit someone else’s mold. They’re creating, building, and leading with their whole selves on display, sin vergüenza. Not apologizing for their accents. Not minimizing their traditions. Not squeezing themselves into boxes built by someone else.

That’s what this package is about. It’s about the shift from assimilation to self-definition, from invisibility to full volume. We’re seeing it everywhere, especially among younger generations, across music, fashion, sports, and media. Artists are rejecting categories and labels that were once weaponized against them. Entrepreneurs are building companies rooted in heritage, rather than hiding it. Everyday people are embracing their native languages without asking permission.

So, this month, we’re spotlighting self-definition. On people who aren’t asking for permission to exist in full color, but instead are reshaping culture in their own voices. Heritage Month isn’t just history; it’s a mirror to how far we’ve come and a window into the future we’re building.

For me, being unapologetic today means showing up fully as myself in every room I enter. It means honoring the roots that raised me and refusing to trade them in for acceptance. And it means helping create a platform where our stories aren’t trimmed at the edges, but told as they are.

This year, I hope these stories remind you of the freedom in being seen without compromise.

Introducing: Sin Vergüenza.