11 Cultural & Artistic Ways To Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

September 14, 2015 - 12:27 pm by VIBE Viva

From coast to coast.

It's that time again for Latinos to celebrate everything that their multilayered culture has to offer, from traditional culinary delights to the foot-tapping sounds of salsa, bachata, cumbia and beyond. As la cultura continues to pass down from generation to generation, Latinos around the country learn more and more about their colorful roots and complex lineage via vibrant festivals, exquisite art exhibitions and educational programming. From local happenings to national affairs, there are a plethora of need-to-know events for the entire family. Take a look at what you can do during Sept. 15 through mid-October to embrace your latinidad!

PR Parade In Brooklyn

1. Brooklyn Puerto Rican Parade & Festival 9/20/15 12-5PM Location: Graham Avenue and Broadway, Brooklyn, NY For those who couldn't make it to Manhattan's Puerto Rican Day parade over the summer, Brooklyn's got you covered. Graham Avenue and Broadway will echo with the sounds of live bands, vendors, and the best meals Puerto Rico has to offer.

Young Lords Exhibit

2. ¡Presente! The Young Lords in New York The Bronx Museum of the Arts (July 2 – October 18, 2015), El Museo del Barrio (July 22 - October 17, 2015), and Loisaida Inc.(July 30 – October 10, 2015). Location: New York City, NY The Bronx Museum of the Arts has arranged a multi-venue exhibition of The Young Lords Organization. For the unfamiliar, The Young Lords Organization is a radical social activist group founded by Puerto Rican youth in the 1960s which demanded reform in health care, education, housing, employment, and policing. The movement had a major impact on New York City and the social history of the United States. Exhibitions at three cultural institutions in New York City will detail how the Young Lords’ activities, community-focused initiatives, and their affirmation of Puerto Rican identity inspired artists from the 1960s to the present day with displays of art and archival materials.

People En Español Fest

3. Festival People En Español 10/17-10/18 Location: Manhattan, New York City, NY People Magazine's Latin department is bringing their successful fourth annual festival from San Antonio, Texas to New York City for the first time. The free, two-day event is set to go down at the Jacob Javits Center and will feature celebrities, social leaders, and other impactful members of the Latin community who will come together for informative panels and musical events with family activities. Special guests include Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Pitbull, Dascha Polanco, Maite Perroni, Alejandra Espinoza and plenty more. For more information on the event, you can visit their official website.

Frida Kahlo Exhibit

10. Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life Sept. 17, 18, 24, 25 Oct 1, 9, 15 6:30-11PM Location: The New York Botanical Garden The Frida Kahlo art exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden has extended the dates for Hispanic Heritage Month. The Garden will feature scheduled performances and music with at least 14 original paintings from the Mexican artist on display. Throughout the exhibit, art connoisseurs can examine Kahlo's lesser-known works of art, which illustrate her home life and describe her love for plants and foliage. As a bonus, each ticket also comes with a complementary drink.

Latino Film Fest

4. San Francisco Latino Film Festival 9/18/15 Location: San Francisco, California The San Francisco Latino Film Festival will take place in theaters and cultural centers all over the San Francisco Bay Area. Presented by Cine+Más SF, the festival will feature screenings of award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries and feature films throughout Latin America, South America and the USA. The audience will also be able to participate in discussions with local and visiting filmmakers after a majority of the screenings. For more information, visit here.

DR Parade in Queens

9. Queens Dominican Parade 10/4/15 Location: Queens, NY The Dominican population in Queens is giving their neighborhood a reason to celebrate at the top of Oct. 37 Avenue, 69th Street to 86th Street will close to host the annual festival, which will feature live music, street vendors, and of course, some authentic sweet-tasting mangu.

Bolivian Parade in Queens

5. Queens Bolivian Parade 10/18/15 Location: Queens, NY Queens will be celebrating the culture of Bolivia during Hispanic Heritage Month. The parade will begin on 37th Avenue and will last from 69th Street to 86th Street. Enjoy a day of live music, street vendors, and try some of the best Bolivian dishes New York City has to offer.

Urban Martyrs, Latter-Day Santos Exhibit

6. RODRIGUEZ CALERO: Urban Martyrs and Latter Day Santos July 22, 2015- December, 19 2015 El Museo del Barrio’s “Urban Martyrs and Latter-Day Santos” is the first museum survey of the Nuyorican artist Rodríguez Calero and the second in a series of five women-artist retrospectives in El Museo’s current five-year plan. Rodríguez Calero fuses both classical and deeply contemporary elements including surrealist collage, Catholic iconography, medieval religious painting, and hip-hop street culture. Her vibrant and unique canvases defies all labels and offers a masterful balance of the abstract and figurative, sacred and profane, the meditative and boldly graphic.

Central America Exhibit

7.Cerámica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed April 18, 2015–January 2017 Location: New York, NY The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian Latino Center collaborated to develop a bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition which sheds light on Central America’s diverse and dynamic ancestral heritage. , For thousands of years, Central America has been home to vibrant civilizations, each with unique, sophisticated ways of life, value systems, and arts. With more than 150 objects on display, the ceramics these peoples left behind, along with recent archaeological discoveries, help tell the stories of these dynamic cultures and their achievements from 1000 BC to the present. The exhibit examines seven regions of Central America's cultural areas that are today part of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Panamanian Independence Day Parade

8. 20th Annual Panamanian Independence Day Parade 9/20/15 Location: Brooklyn, NY The Day of Independence Committee of Panamanians in New York, Inc. will be celebrating their 20th annual Panamanian Independence Day Parade. The true purpose of the parade is to commemorate Panama's secession from Colombia. The parade kicks off at 10:30 a.m. in Bergen Street and Franklin Avenue and will end at a street fair on Classon Avenue between Eastern Parkway and President Street.

Latinas Against Cancer

11. Latinas Contra Cancer & Modern Latina presents: Fashion Fights Back 10/1/2015 Location: San Jose, California Modern Latina in California wants to honor breast cancer survivors in the Latin community with a night of fashion, culture, and more. On the 1st of October, the Latin-based mag will be hosting a night filled with music and fashion to celebrate Latinas who have suffered and survived breast cancer. The proceeds from the event and their exclusive silent auction will go towards Latina Contra Cancer, a non-profit org dedicated to raising awareness about cancer in the Latino community, increasing access to quality care, and improving the quality of the health care experience. You can cop your tickets here.

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