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Do You Know Your U.S. Latino History? Take Our Quiz

Take a little break and find out how much you know about our U.S. Latino history.
Image: The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, in 2013.
File photo of a member of the San Antonio Living History Association patrolling the Alamo during a pre-dawn memorial ceremony to remember the 1836 Battle of the Alamo and those who fell on both sides on March 6, 2013 in San Antonio.Eric Gay / ASSOCIATED PRESS file

Hispanic Heritage Month, which started Monday, September 15th, has been in existence since former President Ronald Reagan stretched our weeklong celebration to a full month in 1988.

There’s plenty of U.S. history and current events infused with Hispanic influence, so take our first of three quizzes during this month and find out how much you know about America’s Hispanic heritage.

Answers (no peeking!) below or just click on the question as you go along.

1. A significant portion of the western U.S., much of which makes up the Southwest, was once a part of which country:

A. Britain

B. Canada

C. Mexico

D. Portugal

2. Pick the city that was the first settlement in what is now the U.S.:

A. Plymouth, Mass.

B. San Antonio, Texas

C. Los Angeles, California

D. Saint Augustine, Florida

3. Before it was the site of a key battle in the Texas Revolution, the Alamo was:

A. a movie set

B. a Spanish orphanage

C. a post office

D. a Spanish mission

4. The body of water serving as the international border between Texas and Mexico is:

A. the Pacific Ocean

B. the Mississippi River

C. the Rio Grande

D. the Nueces River

5. Which Hispanic country assisted the 13 colonies in the American Revolutionary War?

A. Mexico

B. Paraguay

C. Dominican Republic

D. Spain

6. Which U.S. leader first created Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968?

A. Lyndon Baines Johnson

B. Sonia Sotomayor

C. Ronald Reagan

D. President Barack Obama

7. The following was the first Hispanic member of Congress in the United States:

A. Henry B. Gonzalez

B. Luis Gutierrez

C. Joseph Marion Hernandez

D. Fortunato Pedro "Pete" Benavides

8. Name the positions held by the twins Julián and Joaquín Castro in Washington, D.C.:

A. senator and U.S. House representative

B. president and vice president

C. Housing Secretary and U.S. House representative

D. Supreme Court justice and attorney general

9. Hispanic Heritage month includes Sept. 15 and 16 because those are days when many Latin American countries commemorate:

A. end of summer

B. Cinco de Mayo

C. Columbus Day

D. their independence from Spain

10. A popular 1950’s TV comedy starring Lucille Ball also included her husband, singer and actor Desi Arnaz who was born in:

A. Florida

B. Cuba

C. New York

D. New Mexico

Answers:

  1. C; 2. D; 3. D; 4. C; 5. D; 6. A; 7. C; 8. C; 9. D; 10. B