Anchorage marks Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month, now recognized in state law

Anchorage will mark Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month from Monday through Oct. 15, the third year the city has done so and the first since Alaska wrote the observance into state law.

About 60,450 Alaskans, 8.2 percent of the state, identify as Hispanic or Latino, making them the second-largest cultural group in Alaska after Alaska Natives. They run close to 3,000 businesses.

That presence is older than most people assume. The Assembly's resolution traces it to the canneries of the early 1900s and the Gold Rush, and through the rebuilding of Anchorage after the 1964 earthquake and the oil boom that followed.

The observance starts on the 15th because five Central American countries mark their independence that day: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize follow within the week.

The state law came from Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, who said it "tells our Hispanic community that you are welcome here in Alaska." It passed the Senate in spring 2025 and waited a year for a House vote.

All 12 Assembly members and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance sponsored the city resolution. The Municipality has a Hispanic Heritage Month artisan fair set for Oct. 2 at the Anchorage Museum, 6 to 9 pm.