Speakers at Hispanic Heritage Month event laud 'American way,' opportunity in the U.S.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Speakers at a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the Utah Capitol lauded the "American way" and the opportunity that the United States offers.
U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens emphasized assimilation while celebrating one's cultural roots.
Carlos Moreno and Ruben Martinez, Latino immigrants, highlighted the United States as a land of opportunity.

SALT LAKE CITY — As Latinos around the country mark Hispanic Heritage Month, U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens put a focus on the importance of adapting to U.S. customs and culture.

Speaking at a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Monday, he lauded the "foundation of parents, grandparents, great grandparents" of the largely Latino crowd and their efforts in overcoming obstacles in pursuing a better life here. That, he said, will "allow us to hold on to this remarkable dream of America."

He went on, lauding the notion that immigrants and others may celebrate their ancestral roots, a big focus of Hispanic Heritage Month, but putting the larger emphasis on assimilation.

"What I love about this month, what I love about actually being American, is, yes we come from different backgrounds. We celebrate our culture, we celebrate our foods, we celebrate all the things that make memories happen when we think about where we came from," said Owens, a Republican who represents Utah's 4th District. "But you know what makes us special is that we come here, we assimilate, we become Americans. All of a sudden, (the) American way is our way. The American way is what we celebrate. It's what we want to pass on to our kids."

Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and coincides with the independence day celebrations of Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Chile. Numerous cultural events are held during the month in Utah and beyond, and Carlos Moreno, a member of the Salt Lake County Council and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Venezuela, organized Monday's celebration at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City.

Speakers at a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, variously lauded the "American way" and the opportunity they say have found in the United States. A folkloric dance is pictured performing at the event. (Photo: Tim Vandenack, KSL.com)

Paralleling Owens' remarks, Moreno, a Republican, put the focus on the United States as a place where dreams come true. He fled political persecution under the socialist regime of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in coming to Utah and the United States in 2009.

"I started a life from from scratch to now becoming someone in this country. But every day I wake up and I say thank you to my Heavenly Father to give me the opportunity to become American," he said. "This country is the most powerful country in the world, where we can achieve any kind of dream, any kind of goal, any kind of accomplishment. We can accomplish anything in this country."

Ruben Martinez, a Utah entrepreneur originally from Mexico, spoke of the ups and downs he has faced in life and the opportunities he's had in the United States.

"As I've gotten older, I've defined success very differently than what I used to think was success. This is not about money. This is about what God has put in our hands and how we use those tools that God has given us," he said. "So today I want to honor my parents, your families that brought us here to the U.S. to really take on our dreams. I'm really thankful for the opportunity that the U.S. has given me."

Utah Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, also addressed the crowd, lauding the "integral role" of Hispanic Americans in shaping the country.

"Your journey is one of resilience, of perseverance, marked by unwavering determination and a deep-rooted commitment to family, community and culture," she said. Amid "a world of challenges and uncertainties," she said she's grateful for "the amazing contributions" of the group to the state.

The remarks from the varied speakers were interspersed with performances by Latino dance groups and a mariachi band.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.