Hispanic Heritage Month begins in a few days, on Sept. 15.

I am not a fan of the designation of specific months to celebrate particular ethnic, racial or other identity groups. While the original intentions may have been good, the result is that for most public, corporate and government organizations, Hispanic Heritage Month has become the only time of the year in which any attention is paid to the cultural contributions of the 60 million Latinos who live in the United States.

One of the great socio-demographic paradoxes of the early 21st century is that, as the Latino population grows in size and proportion (over 18% of the total U.S. population), our presence in leadership positions continues to decrease.

I recall a 2006 Florida Orange County Board of Commissioners event at which I was invited to receive and read the Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation (whereas ... whereas ... whereas ...) and to hand out art project awards to Latino schoolchildren. Partly tongue-in-cheek, I told the students that they were the future of central Florida and that I looked forward to them organizing Anglo Heritage Month events in the future. Some in the audience found that funny; others laughed nervously; pouts and grimaces were sculpted on the faces of a couple commissioners.

Hispanic Heritage Month is not only the calendar's equivalent of tokenism; it is generally observed by portraying a caricature of Latin American and Latino cultures, with the three usual suspects: food, music and dance, and folkloric dress.

I have made it a lifetime mission to challenge such reductionist stereotypes. When I founded and ran the Latin American Cultural Festival of Orlando, we made sure to include fine arts exhibitions, chamber music recitals with music by Latin American composers, Latin American cinema and lectures by leading scholars. With the same purpose, I often give a multimedia presentation titled "Beyond Tacos, Salsa, and Sombreros: Latin America's Cultural Wealth."

Many years ago, before moving to central Florida, I was invited to a college cultural event and was asked to appear in ethnic garb. Respectfully, I declined. Standing behind a podium wearing but a Taino loincloth would not have made for a pretty sight. At another university, a buffoonish provost showed up wearing a Mexican sombrero. Like Bartolome de las Casas, I did not know whether to laugh or cry.

So how should we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month? Allow me to fire these six points:

— Celebrate it, but make sure that it is not the only time of the year to recognize the cultural and professional contributions of Latinos.

— Invite the three usual suspects, but also plan events that highlight Latino contributions that go beyond the folkloric. Have the Mexican buffet, but bring a Latino poet along.

— Set aside event budgets and human resources that are adequate and commensurate with those of similar monthlong celebrations. (A tropical punch bowl and some chips will not cut it.)

— Make sure those events are not just for Latinos but all members of the organization.

— It is not OK for top executives to show up, give a shallow welcome speech and swiftly escape through the side door. When I spoke at the Kennedy Space Center in 2018, its director and the top brass attended and stayed for the duration, something I greatly appreciated.

— A spirit of volunteerism is one of our community's characteristics, but do not exploit it. Many of us give our fair share of pro-bono presentations to schools and nonprofits, but organizations with plenty of resources should respect professional work and offer honoraria.

Let's celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month the right way. Better yet, let's celebrate with real yearlong inclusion, with respect, with equality of opportunity, and with the recognition that excluding Latinos from leadership positions is wrong and damaging to the effectiveness and bottom line of all types of organizations.

Readers can reach Luis Martinez-Fernandez at LMF_Column@yahoo.com. To find out more about Luis Martinez-Fernandez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: lograstudio at Pixabay