Unlike many months of celebration, National Hispanic American Heritage Month is not tied to a calendar month. It begins on September 15th, a sort of super-independence day, including celebrations for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, followed by Mexico on September 16th and Chile on September 18th. It then continues on the second Monday in October for Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, and ends on October 15.
Renamed Latino Heritage Month by some celebrants, it both honors personal and communal histories and contributions to life in the United States throughout the year. Texans are accustomed to many Mexican traditions and cultural associations, but this month also extends to family ties in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, creating an endlessly diverse opportunity to get to know Austin businesses, artists, and community members.
These 10 recommended events cover traditional Mexican and Tejano music and dance; as many accordions as possible; contemporary theatre; Austin community leaders and their work; tireless food trucks from across the cultural spectrum; and more. Ride a bike to learn about history or get moving with some social dancing. The best part is that most of these are happening on different days and times, so there should be plenty of time to explore what Hispanic Heritage Month means to you.
Opening Reception Cultivating Community Through Art: The Sam Coronado Series Project and Its Continuing Legacy
The late Sam Coronado, a former Austin Community College professor whose pioneering works in the Chicano art movement are celebrated by the Smithsonian, championed cultural diversity through screen printing. This retrospective show spotlights other artists Coronado taught or inspired, both in Austin and further afield. An opening reception on 15 September from 18:00 to 20:00 gives a free preview of the exhibition, which runs until 8 December. No RSVP required.
Austin Latino Heritage Bike Tour
This September 17 bike tour is modeled after the Black History Bike Tour, making 15 stops over 7 miles of Latino community markers. The event description specifies “counter-narratives”, suggesting that this tour may include familiar landmarks in another context, taught in a series of history lessons as the group progresses. The group first stops at the AB Cantu Pan American Recreation Center, and ends at ESB-MACC’s 15th annual Viva México: A Quinceañera! Celebration. The organizer is posting updates on Instagram and Facebook.
“Salsa for the soul!” fundraisers for Latinitas, AVANCE and Con Mi Madre
Three of Austin’s premier organizations for women, girls and families — Latinitas, Avance and Con Mi Madre — are teaming up Sept. 17 to host a salsa-centric fundraiser at Latinitas headquarters. Corazon Latino Dance Studio will teach a dance lesson to get visitors pumped up for a live set by DJ Kickit. Tito’s Handcrafted Vodka and Maudie’s Tex Mex have food and drinks. Local vendors also join the party, and some guests will win raffle prizes. Tickets ($35 or less) available at Eventbrite.
ESB-MACC’s 15th Annual Viva México: A Quinceañera! Celebration
Mexican American Cultural Center Emma S. Barrientos is 15 years old, so it’s quinceañera time. This will be the last event on site before the MACC undergoes construction. The annual event is pulling out all the stops on September 17 with a range of live music from traditional performers to a DJ collective, panels about identity and community, a craft market and a low-key car show. The free event runs from 5 to 10 p.m., with food trucks available. Register on Eventbrite.
“Birds of the Night – An Intimate Celebration of Art + Dance”
Repeating a popular event in 2021, the Cathedral and Ventana Ballet are teaming up again for Night Birds, a 360-degree dance performance. Scores are by Hispanic composers, representing (originally or retrospectively) night birds on September 22nd and 23rd. The cathedral is also completely re-curating its show for the first time since opening in 2019, featuring works by local Hispanic women and non-binary visual artists, for the entire month. Tickets (starting at $45) available on Eventbrite.
Teatro Vivo and Austin Public Library Victory
The Little Walnut Creek Library is really small, but it’s big for the community. In the heavily Hispanic neighborhood of Rundberg (go to this HEB for specialty items), she hosts the bilingual theater company Teatro Vivo on September 24 from 10:30 to 11:30. It’s a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, but it’s also a way to start a conversation about Victory, the after-school tutoring program in partnership with AISD. Admission is free and refreshments are provided. This event is for all ages.
Squeeze Box Market Day
A short drive from Austin to Kyle will be worth it for this event for fans of the squeeze box – that’s accordion, for traditionalists. On September 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mary Kyle Hartson City Square Park will be filled with accordions playing Tejano music and anything else that can fit the instrument. This is a special Hispanic Heritage Month edition of Kyle Market Days, featuring all the same local vendors as usual. Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs and coolers. No RSVP required.
Makuyeika Theater Collective: “Floors”
A conversation about heritage would not be complete without Indigenous voices. Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral, a theater collective that focuses on the indigenous stories of Mexico, shares a multilingual piece on September 24. The stories told by a live musician and three actors will be in Spanish and indigenous languages with English subtitles on stage, representing Mexico and the everyday Mexico of the three actors. scenes from his “remote corners.” Tickets are available at texasperformingarts.org.
Mexico’s Mariachi Heritage
A mariachi performer is especially interesting during this heritage month; Granddaughter of famous ranchera singer Pedro Infante, Lupita Infante. The youngest singer and her large group of 14 musicians from the United States and Mexico promise “a lively celebration of Mexican music and culture” at the Long Center on October 13 at 8:00 p.m. The band is based in Chicago, but employs a few Texans back home on this tour stop. Tickets ($29-$64) are available at thelongcenter.org.
Sazon Latin Food Festival
Restaurants all over Austin are offering specials this month, but they’re hard to find. The Sazon Latin Food Festival is taking the guesswork out of it, bringing together a dozen food vendors from Caribbean, Central and South American cuisines to cap off Hispanic Heritage Month on October 15. This party will take place at Annie’s Day and Night, a relatively small venue for so many vendors, so visitors are encouraged to register now on Eventbrite and arrive early at the food market between 5:30 and 9:00 p.m.
