Since 1989, National Hispanic Heritage Month has been celebrated in the United States from September 15 until October 15. Issued as a presidential proclamation each year, the activities that take place during the month, particularly in cities with large Hispanic populations, focus on how Latinos have made the United States a richer and more interesting place to live. They include performances by Latino musical groups, lectures about Hispanic life, and special awards presentations to Latinos who have made significant achievements in business, education, or the arts. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After Napoleon took control of Spain, Venezuelans seized the chance to revolt against Spanish rule. In 1811, Venezuela declared independence, but an earthquake in 1812 destroyed cities held by the rebels and furthered the cause of the royalists. In 1815, a pregnant Arismendi was captured—one day before her 17th birthday—by Spanish forces hoping to exert pressure on her husband, General Juan Bautista Arismendi, but she refused to renounce the revolution while imprisoned. What happened to her? 
Song Yingxing was a Chinese scientist who authored an encyclopedia covering a wide variety of technical subjects during the late Ming Dynasty. Published in 1637, Tiangong Kaiwu—Exploitation of the Works of Nature—was divided into chapters with broad themes, including agriculture, transportation, papermaking, and the use of gunpowder weapons. Although other encyclopedias had been previously published, Tiangong Kaiwu was distinguished by its substantial inclusion of what? 
The first wife of Andrew II of Hungary, Gertrude played an active role in the political machinations of his early reign. She used her influence to advance her German relatives at court and gifted Hungarian lands to them, angering the Hungarian nobility and inciting them to action. While her husband was off on a military campaign, Gertrude was murdered by a group of discontented nobles. The unsavory affair served as the inspiration for what Hungarian composer’s famous opera, Bánk bán? 
Born free in Baltimore, Maryland—where slavery was still in place—Harper was raised by an abolitionist uncle and published her first volume of poetry when she 20 years old. In 1854, she gave her first anti-slavery lecture. Her second volume, Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects, made her the best known African-American poet of the era. Her short story, “The Two Offers,” was probably the first such published work by any African American. How old was she when she published her first novel? 
Although the exact borders of the region known as Central Asia are debated, the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are known as the Central Asian Republics—former republics of the Soviet Union. Sometimes said to include Afghanistan, Mongolia, and portions of China and Pakistan, the region has historically acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe and Eastern Asia, especially due to the Silk Road, which was what?