Uniting Nossas Raices.

That is the theme and goal of Latino Heritage Month at Iowa State. Directly translated, the theme means “uniting our roots” and incorporates the three primary languages of Latin American countries — English, Portuguese and Spanish.

The theme portrays a major focus for the month. It’s time for the various Latino cultures to work together toward common goals, said David Romero, president of the Latino Heritage Month Committee.

“It’s time for us to be one,” he said.

La Marcha de las Americas kicks off the festivities Friday. ISU students will parade flags of 22 countries that Latinos call home. Along with 20 Latin American nations, the parade includes the flags of the United States and the United Nations.

Parading shows that Latinos come from many countries, each with its own culture, said Yanira Pacheco-Ortiz, adviser to the Latino Heritage Month Committee.

“The Latino community is a very diverse community within itself,” she said.

Many people don’t realize that there are many distinctive cultures within the Latino community. Latinos come from more than 20 countries, including the United States, and Latin America is a diverse area with a mixture of languages, ethnicities, races and religions. Even those that share a common language each have distinctive customs, histories, clothing styles, music and dances, said Roy Salcedo, program assistant for the honors program.

“Latinos get categorized,” he said. “That’s one thing we fight against.”

Nationally, the month is recognized as Hispanic Heritage Month. “Latino” replaced the word “Hispanic” in the month’s name because students on the planning committee at Iowa State felt the term better represented their community, said Marcus Camacho, vice president of Latino Heritage Month committee.

The month begins Sept. 15 and lasts through Oct. 15. However, the ISU Latino community celebrates from Sept. 10 through Oct. 29.

“It doesn’t have to be just one month,” Romero said. “We are proud of our Latino heritage, and we are proud of it year-round.”

The month will showcase various aspects of the many Latino cultures. It celebrates diversity with the goal of educating the community about that diversity, Camacho said.

Events include Latin American films, speakers, panel discussions, food tasting and a fiesta dance. Various cultures will showcase arts and crafts in a display at Parks Library.

Awareness and outreach are major focuses of those planning activities, Pacheco-Ortiz said.

“Our main purpose is to educate. It’s our responsibility as an institution, as a university, to educate not only students that come to this university, but the community we’re a part of,” she said.

There are a growing number of immigrants making their homes in Ames, so they need to learn about their neighbors’ cultures, Camacho said.