That American culture is once of the most vibrant and creative in the world is an unquestionable truth, as manifested in its music, its cinema, its literature, its dance and all of America’s extremely successful, lucrative and high quality artistic activities.
Latino culture, an active, and growing influence that brings new and enriching elements to American culture, forms an important part of this great United States culture, we find. The 2010 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Outstanding Latino/a Cultural Arts, Literary Arts and Publications Award, has been given to the poet and editor Francisco Aragón. This award recognizes the contribution and fusion of Hispanic culture with mainstream American culture through literature and publications.
Francisco Aragón is known for his bilingual poems, among them: «Puerta del Sol», or The Gate to the Sun, (2005), in which he exhibits an energetic and accessible verse without compromising the lyricism he’s known for and «The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry», an anthology that won first prize in the category of poetry in English in the International Latino Book Awards. He also edits the series «Canto Cosas» (I Sing Things), by the Bilingual Press editorial at the University of Arizona, and gives bilingual literary lectures on «Palabra Pura» (Pure Word), in Chicago.

In addition to his work as a poet and an editor, Aragón is a renowned cultural activist, promoting the literary efforts of Hispanic writers in the United States, and has developed well known literary initiatives like “Letras Latinas” (Latino Letters), developed through the Institute for Latino Studies, at the University of Notre Dame and Washington D.C., which promotes the Hispanic community’s literature through projects that support Hispanic writers’ literary work. Additionally, Aragón directs Momotombo Press, a publishing house dedicated to publishing thew ors of new Latino writers with María Meléndez’s collaboration. The combination of these factors, married with his intense work for the Hispanic community, have made him more than worthy of this prize.
Beyond the award itself and its recognition of Aragón’s work, we find the strength of Hispanic American culture, a culture that grows year after year in influence and quality. Latino roots are painting mainstream American culture with lively new colors full, and converting Spanish/English bilingualism and Latino references into a new and powerful reference in U.S. society and across the world.
Hispanic writers and editors are making American life and culture more dynamic with an enormous creative strength, and bringing to our attention artists that are at present, the best in the market.
The excellence of Latino culture, whatever its origin, is creating a new culture that is more alive, more tolerant, and more inclusive than ever before, that is creative but in touch with its roots, propelled in large part by the unity that the Spanish language lends to Spanish speakers from a variety of heritages.
Hispanic American culture is making its mark, and breaking new ground. While some Hispanic cultures in other countries sink into degradation or oblivion, in the United States, Hispanics continue to grow in their excellence and influence thanks to those individuals who work to promote Hispanic culture on a daily basis while in parts of Europe, for example Spain, some of these very rich and dynamic cultural elements are lost among other unimportant cultural elements.
Fortunately, excellence continues to exist in American culture. It’s a privilege to be able to count on this excellence in Hispanic culture.