You’ve probably heard of Hispanic Heritage Month. But have you heard of Latine Futures Month? Manuel Aragon, a Denver photographer, writer, and artist, just dreamed it up.
The celebration launched last month as a collection of social-media profiles spotlighting leaders in Denver’s multifaceted Chicano, Latinx, Guatemalan, Venezuela, Mexican and Hispanic communities. The profiles combine artful photos with short biographies that capture subjects’ hopes, achievements and humanity.
Those featured include advocates, immigrants, musicians, healers, playwrights, teachers, chefs, organizers and more.
What they have in common is roots in community and an eye toward the future.
Today, Nov. 15, marks the finale of Aragon’s Latine Futures series. The complete collection, featuring 29 profiles, lives on Aragon’s Instagram.
“This is for the culture we carry, for the stories we imprint in every handprint, every footprint we leave upon this land,” Aragon wrote in a final bookend to this year’s series. “Denver, Colorado—you cradle our histories, hold our dreams, and showcase our art and pride. This is for the neighborhoods that have raised us, for the city that grounds us. This is for the heartbeat of our culture, the rhythm that keeps you alive, that keeps us all alive.”
A taste of the work
One profile celebrates Yosber, a Venezuelan immigrant. Here’s an excerpt from his Latine Futures biography.
Yosber began his long, arduous journey from Venezuela to the United States five years ago, a trek filled with uncertainty. Like many Venezuelan migrants, he faced immense challenges—crossing borders, navigating unfamiliar terrain, and enduring unpredictable conditions along the way. Each step forward carried the hope of finding a future, but also the fear of the unknown. Arriving in the U.S. brought a new set of challenges: entering a country where he didn’t know the language and had no guarantees of what lay ahead.
His experience mirrors that of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who have come to Denver over the past year, seeking stability, a future, and most importantly, a place to call home. The difficulties of migration were compounded by the language barrier, which added a layer of isolation and insecurity in a country where even basic communication felt like a hurdle.
Ismael de Sousa, the owner of Reunion Bread, saw the struggles his fellow Venezuelans were facing. In early 2024, he began providing food weekly to those living in encampments. Realizing that wasn’t enough, he looked for other ways to help.
In recent months, with support from the City of Denver, a local nonprofit, Ismael and Reunion Bread, Yosber has started working at the bakery alongside a handful of other Venezuelan bakers. He’s been honing his baking skills, receiving hands-on training, and improving his English—turning what was once an obstacle into an opportunity.
Other profiles in the series include up-and-comers such as musician and playwright Diego Arroyo-Florez, community leader Alicia “Bruce” Trujillo, and photographer Anthony Maes, as well as longtime leaders such as Flo Hernandez-Ramos.
Why Latine Futures Month, why now?
Hispanic Heritage Month, a cultural holiday celebrated from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, has been nationally recognized since 1989. But Latine Futures Month, celebrated from Oct. 16 through Nov. 15, is a creation of Aragon’s own making.
“Growing up,” he said, “the government-prescribed word was Hispanic.” But in recent years, he said, there’s been a shift in how the community has chosen to diversify and specify terms for identity.
Initially, Aragon thought he’d call the series Latinx Futures Month. But time spent with younger folks in his community – specifically those aged 24 to 30 – made him reconsider.
“Over the past year, spending a lot of time in community spaces that often have queer Latin folks, ‘[Latine]’ tended to be the term that they were using,” Aragon explained. He acknowledged that all umbrella terms have their pitfalls, but he wanted to honor the language that applied to the community he would focus much of the series on.
He wanted the celebration to focus on the present – and the future.
During Hispanic Heritage Month, “we celebrate folks who have done really extraordinary things in our community,” he acknowledged. But “there's a time when there’s a new person doing work in the community.”
As for timing, Aragon explained, he was thinking about how Hispanic Heritage Month affects the arts community. He said if you’re a Latine creative, you’re getting a bunch of booking offers for the heritage month. Then, they stop.
That’s why he wants Latine Futures Month to start just as Hispanic Heritage Month ends, in the middle of each October. Come Oct. 16, he said, “We're still here, the celebration of us, we can still be celebrated.”
Though the first Latine Futures Month is ending, there are more to come
Aragon hopes that providing photos, bios and a spotlight will give his subjects a boost.
The goal is to give them “a way to see themselves and show how the community sees them.”
He also dreams of a future where the profiles come alive in a gallery show or other physical space. But that might have to wait for next year…or two.
Latine Futures Month will return in 2025, he promised.
Until then, Aragon said, “We can celebrate folks now, in the present, and don't have to wait ‘til next fall or 20 years from now to celebrate them.”
