As we come to the conclusion of the 2012 National Hispanic Heritage Month, America’s second most powerful political personality, said, “The Hispanic population in this country is the most powerful force in American politics.”

Ahem. Perhaps figures like 52 million, 16.7 percent, one-third and 2050 helped nudge VP Joe Biden a tad to utter such a phrase in front of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on a recent evening in D.C.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 52 million Spanish-surnamed Americans running around this country. (Caution: this particular arm of the federal government, however, always undercounts Hispanics, so feel free to add a few million more.)

Thus the Bureau’s latest count, says that Hispanics make up 16.7 percent of the nation’s population. (Again, caution is advised.)

One-third of the official U.S. population in 2050, said the Pew Research Center, will be Hispanic.

But back to Señor Biden, who also stated that “Americans have embraced” this block of future what-evers and thanked them for their contributions.

Ah, it’s a start, Don José, a start. The rest, I fear, is really up to us, the Hispanics, which, I assume, includes all of La Raza.
All of these accolades, scripted as they might be, come at the right time with the American style fiesta, that began on the eve of Mexican Independence Day will end on Oct. 15.

Yes, all of us know it’s a kind of diluted version of a real pachanga, but hey, in the beginning of this yearly affair, the powers-that-be only allowed us a week! (Officially, Hispanic Heritage Week was approved by President Lyndon Johnson and expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period.)

Seriously, Hispanics, through no fault of their own, know beans about their heritage and accomplishments of their ancestors. Why? Their education is based on American History, the white folks version, that is.

It’s the “heritage” part that we need to emphasize, for if it’s contributions by our gente that the rest of America needs to know, this is the time to shine. Hispanics in general can feel proud of the countless of contributions made by their ancestors. For starters, the armed forces has always had long lists of Latinos taking up arms in defense of the U.S. of A. And specifically, during World War II, more Medals of Honor were garnered by Raza soldiers than any other ethnic group. During peacetime, our ancestors helped build this nation from the ground up. By the time the pilgrims made it to Plymouth Rock, cities like San Augustin, Florida, Santa Fe, New Mexico and others were in need of infrastructure repair!

The American Revolutionary War, according to the history books both me and my relatives were issued, was won by white colonists. Imagine our surprise when we did the research in university libraries and discovered a slew of Spanish names attached to the heroic deeds of Gen. George Washington’s troops, not to mention his Hispanic compadre!
(You read that right, Gen. Washington’s close pal, Juan de Miralles, who played a prominent role in establishing this nation’s first navy, became the good general’s BFF.)

Perhaps the main reason that La Raza seeks to party like there’s no mañana, can be attributed to the alcoholic beverage industry. You already know that they hijacked Cinco de Mayo to the point that even genuine Mexicans believe American beer companies launched the holiday. Well, the rascals are at it again.

There’s nothing wrong in a toast to our luck for living in one of the world’s greatest countries as long as the other Americans know about our history, contributions and the role our ancestors played long before the Eurodudes came ashore. It is sad to say, but racism and ethnic discrimination are two factors that are to blame for the whitewashed versions of this country’s history. What is much sadder, is the fact that such inaccuracies in teachings have led to even more prejudice and discrimination across the land.

It’s tough to win a fight against ignorance and presently, as racial and ethnic tensions continue to gnaw at our social fabric, we must make an effort at revamping the educational system so it’ll reflect and respect our country’s multicultural differences. That’s the real lesson that should be extracted from a 30 day-period set aside to “honor” our heritage.

So, mi Raza Linda, what say we forego our annual Hispanic Month fiesta hangover and make a concerted effort to sow seeds of sabiduría – knowledge- cultural among our own children so they won’t grow up to become callow clones of their parents. Let’s engulf them with a new sense of pride, self-esteem and historical correctness that’ll be unchallenged by the next generation.

¿Se puede? The answer, my fellow Americans, is quite obvious when you’re a political force.