My newfound meaning of Hispanic Heritage Month

We just celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15 every year. It is a dedicated time to recognize the contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to our country's culture, history, economy, and communities.

As a Cuban-American woman, I've always appreciated this month. But I'll admit that my relationship with it has changed over the years.

Perhaps it's because I'm getting older. Perhaps it's because I've spent the past 16 years building a business in Los Angeles, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. Or perhaps it's because the more I learn about people through the work we do at Talk Shoppe the more I recognize the influence of my own upbringing.

Whatever the reason, I've found myself thinking less about the overly-marketed celebrations themselves and more about the ways my cultural background has shaped my approach to business, leadership, and the opportunities I want to create for others.

The ways my Cuban roots have shaped my leadership

When I started Talk Shoppe in 2010, I wasn't thinking about building a Hispanic-owned business. I was thinking about building a great business.

I wanted to create a company that did meaningful work, treated people well, challenged conventional thinking, and offered clients a genuinely different kind of partnership.

Sixteen years later, I can see how much of that vision was influenced by the cultural values I grew up around, even if I didn't consciously recognize them at the time.

The importance of relationships. The belief that trust is earned through personal connection. The willingness to improvise when circumstances change. The ability to find humor in difficult situations. The idea that one must take the job and work extremely seriously but not take oneself as much. The idea of radical hospitality, or what was known later in culture as unreasonable hospitality.

I don't believe any of these qualities belong exclusively to Cuban culture, or to Hispanic culture more broadly. But they are certainly part of how I experienced my upbringing, and they have influenced the way I approach leadership.

Living in Los Angeles changed how I think about Hispanic identity

There's something interesting about celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in L.A.

Here, Hispanic culture isn't something that appears for a month and then disappears from public view. It's part of the city's day-to-day, as nearly 50% of the city is of Hispanic descent, mostly Mexican and Central American. It's in our neighborhoods, businesses, restaurants, music, art, language, and the countless interactions that make

Los Angeles what it is.

But living here also reminds me how misleading it can be to talk about Hispanic identity as though it were one shared experience.

A Cuban-American business owner who grew up in Connecticut, a second-generation Mexican-American college student, a Salvadoran immigrant, and a third-generation Colombian-American parent may all identify as Hispanic. Yet their experiences, values, traditions, and relationships with that identity can be profoundly different. Even within the same family, different generations may understand their cultural backgrounds differently.

As consumer researchers, we see versions of this complexity all the time. Demographic categories are useful for organizing information or for defining crosstabs columns, but they rarely capture the full richness of human experience. And as someone who belongs to the community we're discussing, I find that lesson especially meaningful.

I want brands to recognize Hispanic consumers, certainly. But I also want them to understand that recognition is only the beginning. What comes next is richer but also exponentially harder, no doubt.

Real cultural understanding requires patience. You have to really care, and really take your time, to listen to people, appreciate the nuances of their lives, and recognize that cultural identity is constantly evolving.

From building a business to creating opportunities

Maybe the biggest change in my perspective is how I define the impact of my business

Early on, much of my energy went toward the immediate challenges any owner or founder can relate to, no matter how small the business. Keeping the business moving, finding the right people, building client relationships, making decisions with incomplete information.

Today, while those responsibilities haven't disappeared, I have more room to think about the longer-term impact of our work.

What kind of workplace are we creating? What opportunities can we offer people that they might not find elsewhere? How can we help develop the next generation of leaders?

And how can we use our position in the insights industry to encourage more nuanced, thoughtful conversations about the people brands serve?

I think about these questions as a Cuban-American woman, as a business owner, and as someone who has had the privilege of building a company alongside people from many different backgrounds.

I also think about how much has changed since Talk Shoppe began in 2010. The conversations around diversity, representation, and cultural understanding have evolved considerably. We've made progress in some areas, and we still have meaningful work to do in others.

My hope is that the next generation of Hispanic entrepreneurs won't have to think quite so much about whether they belong in certain rooms or whether their backgrounds might limit their opportunities. I hope they'll see their backgrounds as one of the many strengths they bring to whatever they choose to build. And I hope those of us who have already had opportunities to lead will continue making room for them.

A celebration that lasts beyond October 15

Hispanic Heritage Month will always be an opportunity for me to celebrate my Cuban roots, appreciate the people who came before me, and recognize the applause-worthy contributions of Hispanic communities across the United States.

But today, it also serves as a reminder of the responsibilities and opportunities that come with being a business owner.

To lead with the values that matter to me. To make space for perspectives different from my own. To help create opportunities for others. And to recognize that the work we do can have an impact well beyond our immediate business objectives. That's what Hispanic Heritage Month means to me now: it's not only about honoring the people who helped make my journey possible. It's about making more journeys possible for others.