Celebrate National Hispanic American Heritage Month By Honoring Hispanic Glass Artists

Since 1988, September 15th has marked the beginning of a month when the U.S. shows gratitude for the revolutionary spirit of Hispanic Americans that have infused our collective culture with the flavor of their diverse heritages over the centuries. This includes artists, innovators, and cultural luminaries with ancestral roots to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South Americas. With Dab Nation’s all-inclusive ethos, it should come as no surprise that we proudly feature the glass creations of several artists of Hispanic descent. Today, we take a moment to honor the importance of National Hispanic American Heritage Month while highlighting a handful of Hispanic American artists working in glass today. 

The History of National Hispanic American Heritage Month

The middle of the month may seem like a strange starting point, but there’s a method to the madness. September 15th marks the date when several Latin American countries achieved independence including El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Mexico celebrates its independence the following day on September 16th with Chile’s independence day close behind on the 18th. And though it’s come under scrutiny in recent years for its impact on America’s indigenous people, Columbus Day is a nexus point of cultural significance to many Hispanic cultures who celebrate the event in different ways and with different themes on October 12th. While the seeds of National Hispanic American Heritage Month were planted in 1968 when just a week was set aside to honor Hispanic Americans and the ways they’ve improved culture in the United States, the period of tribute was expanded to a month in 1988. 

Gabereal Glass Brings Style and Substance

Sleek hyper-stylized sophistication meets vibrant detail for an overall heady result on the work from Gabe Palacios, better known as Gabereal Glass. An Arizona native, he’s been in the game since 2014 crafting retrofuturistic pieces that employ juxtapositions of bold colors and geometric shapes for work that looks somewhere between a machine from the distant future and an organism from a distant planet. Most of the Gabereal Glass pieces that we have at Dab Nation primarily make use of cold colors, reinforcing that interstellar appeal, but his entire body of work is less limited. One of our favorites that we have on display in the shop is his Glass Bomb Dab Rig with matching carb cap; a heady glass piece that incorporates space age dichro for that contrast of harsh definition and exaggerated stylism we love to see in his art. But if you’re looking for less of a financial investment, you’ll love his brilliantly colored, intricate millie marbles. 

Nes Glass Travels the Full Spectrum of Glass Decorative Techniques

Based out of the Chula Vista/San Diego area, Nes Glass is noted for his often tube-based mini dab rigs that provide plenty of stability and a reliable grip. Nearly any glass decorative technique you can imagine finds its way into a Nes tube at some point or another: fuming, brilliant wig wag cross sections, marbling, millie inlays, you name it. The list of techniques he hasn’t tried would be shorter… assuming there’d even be anything to list. And though his tube-style dab rigs are popular, he’s also tackled all sorts of different designs as evidenced by the gorgeous banded glass chillums and eye-catching Puffco Peak glass top attachments we also carry in the shop.  

Augy Glass Illustrates the Quality That Comes from Experience

San Fernando’s Augy Glass has been turning out consistent quality pipes and rigs since 2001. With that kind of experience, you can guess that his style has evolved considerably over the years. In fact, it’s probably more difficult to identify Augy’s work based on aesthetics alone than any of the other artists we’re highlighting today. But one baseline you can count on with Augy is premium quality. But you don’t make glass art for 2 decades without learning a few tricks. From his carnivalesque mini tube rigs to his surreal recyclers, Augy’s body of work is diverse, bold and masterful. 

It was tough to choose just 3 artists of Hispanic descent from the many whose work has graced the Dab Nation shelves over the years. The contributions of people of Hispanic descent to the positive aspects of American culture are undeniable, so we hope you take time to show your appreciation this month (and every month) for the way our lives have been enriched by the experiences, knowledge and history that Hispanic Americans have shared with us as a whole. National Hispanic American Heritage Month may end on October 16th, but the influence of Hispanic Americans continues ever onward, as does our respect and gratitude.