¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana!
September 15th through October 15th is recognized in the United States as Hispanic Heritage Month, recognizing the independence dates of many Latin American countries, including Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Chile. Since 1988, the United States has celebrated Hispanic and Latine contributions to American culture during this month.
The theme of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month is Prosperity, Power, and Progress! In celebration, we’ve invited some of our Latine contributors and coworkers to speak on our blog.
Joseph Blomquist (he/him)
¿Qué es la que hay corillo?
This month’s theme of prosperity, power, and progress is a chance to talk about growth in my freelance work. I’ve worked for a slew of companies over the years on reviews, rules, and narrative work. I’ve had the chance to include elements of the islands I love in the games I love. And over time, my stories, word counts, and NPCs have (some literally) grown.
If you’ve played my previous adventures here at Paizo, you know that I try to toss in a lot of theme and character into the background. For example, in SFS 2-21 Illegal Shipment, I leaned into the claustrophobia of Fogtown; in PFS 4-02 Return to the Grave, the dark haunted forests of the Gravelands were as much a character as the fallen NPCs you face; and the upcoming PFS 5-05 The Island of the Vibrant Dead is set on an island inspired by the Caribbean paradises I only visited in my youth.
Yet how much can ambiance prepare you for what is to come? How ready are you for giant robots versus kaiju in both Mechageddon! and Pacific Rim coming for you ahorita? Everything that went into my scene building has grown to encompass the scale of what is coming soon. And I can’t wait to share it with you.
Carlos Cabrera (he/they)
Hi everyone. I am a third party and Paizo freelancer for Pathfinder, voice actor, and as of last year and concurrently along with my daughter, burgeoning board game designer! With this year’s theme I thought I would highlight where I’ve come from personally, professionally, and culturally.
The board game design I sold felt more my own than my usual work. It was made without outline or prompt, pitched, and sold, and not so much a piece of a greater whole as RPG books go (which I still do, gratefully). Then a cousin of mine reminded me I said at 9 years old I wanted to make my own game. I was 39 then, so you can imagine how emotional I was that it took me that long.
In addition to that accomplishment, I have special reason to be proud this month. As a mixed-race person of color, I have had my words in print, my voice and likeness in video games, and I’ve become more comfortable with myself, using aspects of my own culture in the characters I create—be it in LARP or future works. Eventually that will include my own logo, and for my daughter’s works as well.
To see more of what our Latine contributors bring to Paizo, take a look at these previous Hispanic Heritage Month blogs:
We’re so happy to have a diverse set of voices contributing to the games we make here at Paizo, because we know their perspectives make our worlds richer and better!
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month 2023!
Friday, September 22, 2023
