As of Friday, September 15, and through to October 15, we are officially celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! With Hispanic Heritage Month comes recognition of the culture and history of Latinx and Hispanic people living in the United States. The month started as a commemorative week back in 1968, then became a full month of celebrations in 1988. The month spans the time in which many Latin American countries celebrate their Independence Days. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua celebrate their independence from Spain on September 15th and Mexico celebrates its on September 16th. Chile also celebrates its independence from Spain just a few days later on September 18th. Lastly, Belize celebrates its independence from Great Britain on September 21st. Throughout the month, many celebrations and events are held to honor the cultures.
Austin hosts a series of events throughout the month that are a lot of fun for everyone!
Pecan Street Festival
Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month is the Pecan Street Festival in its 48th year. While the event already happened this past weekend, it cannot go unmentioned. This festival is always family friendly and holds several showcases celebrating Latin culture.
Fiesta Austin
The Fiesta Austin is an event that happens on Mexican Independence Day and focuses on celebrating Mexican American culture. The event has live music, games, art, food, and so many more fun activities to honor the culture!
Library Events
The Austin Public Library holds events all month long! They have some events featuring Latin authors hosting discussions, dance classes, and even craft-making classes! The best part about these events is they are open to everyone and all completely free! It is a great way to get kids involved with more informative and fun events for the month.
LBJ Hispanic Heritage Month Keynote with Dolores Huerta
This is a great educational opportunity for people of all ages. Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez and continues to work as a civil rights activist. She will be present to give a lecture as well as hold a discussion that is set to be moderated by Ana Luisa Oaxaca. The event is entirely free, but tickets do need to be reserved beforehand.
