Congresswoman Escobar Announces Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest Winners

Last night, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) hosted a reception and awards ceremony for the nearly 150 middle school students who participated in her 2026 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest. “It was wonderful to be joined by so many of the participants and winners of my Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Competition. I started this contest in the hope that we could come together to celebrate and uplift the voices of the next generation of great writers in our community,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “Last night’s event was a beautiful celebration of our heritage and our culture and it was an honor to celebrate our talented young people.” 1st Place: Aarav Niraula, from Wiggs Middle School 2nd Place: Alisson Montoya, from Fabens Middle School 3rd Place: Axel Rodriguez, from Howard Burnham Honorable Mentions: Josefina Villegas, from Hornedo Middle School Quetzali Cruz, Sun Ridge Middle School Middle school students from across Texas' 16th Congressional District were invited to submit an essay to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The prompt was “Describe how growing up in El Paso has shaped your understanding and appreciation of Hispanic Culture”. Photos can be found here . # # #