During the month, Latinos celebrate Hispanic heritage through festivities that highlight the music and food that extol the countries’ history and rich culture. To learn more about how Latinos revel this month and during other celebrations, Nielsen conducted a survey among the Hispanic community in the U.S. to glean deeper insight. Here are some highlights:
- Only 30 percent of respondents said they celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, including the Independence Day of their country of origin.
- The affinity to celebrate main Hispanic celebrations differs among English and Spanish preferred Hispanics. Spanish-preferred Latinos are more likely to celebrate Thanksgiving, Easter Day, Holy Week and 3 Kings Day, while English-preferred Hispanics are less likely to celebrate these holidays. Cinco de Mayo is the Hispanic celebration that attracts the biggest engagement, at 48 percent.
- Even though respondents largely don’t celebrate this month, 73 percent consider it extremely important or very important that companies and organizations recognize and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and the contributions Hispanics have made to the U.S.
- When it comes to celebrating Heritage Hispanic Month or Independence Day for their country of origin, Latinos mainly organize parties at home, attend Latino music concerts, and in smaller proportion, attend festivals and celebrations organized by governments, academic organizations and employers (10%).
When it comes to food, the most popular dishes are rice (84%), beans (71%), chicken (66%), beef (60%) and guacamole (60%). These are followed by tacos, pork, tamales, enchiladas and fish. - Latinos love fruit and natural ingredients, and Aguas frescas, or fresh waters (a combination of fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water to make light non-alcoholic beverages), are always a key ingredient of these celebrations: Tamarindo, chia, horchata, jaimaica, agua de melón, sandía, lima, limonada, fresa, and piña are some of the most popular aguas frescas flavors.
- When researching beverage preferences, Nielsen found that soft drinks are the big winners. Sixty-five percent of Hispanics drink soda, making it the most-consumed beverage, even above fruit or fresh water drinks, juices and/or flavored water. Fresh water drinks are a staple beverage type for Latinos, and some of the most common flavors are tamarind, horchata, jamaica and lima.
Source: Published originally on Nielsen.com as How Latinos celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond, October 11, 2013.
