Hispanic Heritage Month activities in San Antonio this year include storytelling, art exhibits, El Grito in Market Square, a parade and dance and musical performances.
Most events will take place during the traditional timeframe of commemoration — Sept. 15-Oct. 15 — and many will unfold in and around downtown.
The City of San Antonio’s Arts and Culture Department and Diez y Seis de Septiembre Commission partnered with public agencies and civic groups to assemble a range of events.
“There are over 40 events that have been submitted from various city departments and organizations this year,” said Christoph Michaud, arts and culture department marketing manager. “This is an exciting year as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Diez y Seis de Septiembre Commission.”
Don’t see your event on the list? Send details to hello@sareport.org.
San Antonio Public Library
The Central Library is hosting “Viaje Onírico/Dream Journey,” an exhibit of paintings by Mexican artist Marcos Mares. The exhibit is free for public viewing through Oct. 26 in the library’s Latino Collection and Resource Center art gallery.
Avenida Guadalupe Association
This Westside nonprofit will present “Independence of Mexico in San Antonio, Texas – First Stage 1810-1811” on Sept. 7 at Mission Concepción, offering a historical narrative and traditional songs that recall how residents of San Antonio de Bexar helped to contribute to Mexico winning its independence from Spain.
The 43rd annual Dieciséis de Septiembre Parade on the morning of Sept. 14 will start at the corner of Brazos and Guadalupe streets, and proceed west through the city’s historically Mexican American neighborhood. Aaron Peña, the bar impresario behind Southtown’s Amor Eterno, Gimme Gimme and A Perfect Day, will be the grand marshal.
The seventh annual Fiesta Alegria Celebration on Oct. 19 at Plaza Guadalupe is an eclectic happening with San Antonio blues acts such as Jason Kane and The Jive, and the Chris Cuevas Project. There will also be lucha libre with wrestlers such as Santa Chiva, a performance from artist troupe IAAM (Introducing Artists Actors and Musicians) and a car show with hot rods and lowriders.
Market Square
The Consulate General of Mexico will present El Grito, a traditional cultural program Sept. 13 near San Saba Street at Market Square. The event will include live music, folkloric dancers and food and crafts vendors. But the highlight is El Grito ceremony commemorating Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s call to arms in Dolores, Mexico on Sept. 16, 1810.
San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture
“Dining with Rolando Briseño: A 50-Year Retrospective” at Centro de Artes features 75 of the local artist’s works grouped into 10 thematic sections, all unified by a single theme — a love for food. The exhibit will continue through Feb. 9.
San Antonio Charro Association
San Antonio Charro Association will bring the annual Dieciséis de Septiembre Mexican charreada to the San Antonio Charro Ranch on Sept. 14. The event features charros and escaramuzas showcasing their equestrian and livestock-herding skills in a rodeo-like atmosphere.
Urban-15
The local dance company will stream “Temporal” on loop Sept. 16-23 between noon and midnight. Originally recorded in 2005 in Monterrey, Mexico, “Temporal” is a 10-movement work that Urban-15 commissioned in 1991. Set in a small Caribbean island, every movement was choreographed to depict a community’s awareness that survival is at the mercy of the sea.
Arneson River Theatre
“Viva Mexico!” is a free performance of Mexican folkloric dances by local students along the River Walk on Sept. 15.
The Rey Feo Scholarship Foundation will hold a Superhero Parade and Festival along the San Antonio River on Sept. 28. Some decorated river parade floats during the nighttime parade will ferry participants costumed as fictional pop culture superheroes. Other floats will honor real-life heroes, such as emergency first responders, educators and health care workers. Ticketed seating is available at Arneson River Theatre. The free daylong festival will offer food, arts and crafts, and music.
LULAC Council 4947 will co-present the annual Diez y Seis Mariachi Festival on Oct. 12. Groups from local middle and high schools will perform mariachi music while attendees can enjoy food, arts and crafts.
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
Guadalupe Dance Company will mark the 30th anniversary of their “Rio Bravo” production, which debuted in 1994, at the UTSA Downtown Campus Buena Vista Theatre. “Rio Bravo” involves five chronological elements of dance, reflecting the dance and music traditions of the Texas-Mexico border area. This time around, on Sept. 20 and 21, the dance troupe and Mariachi Azteca de América will bring “Rio Bravo” to life for special ticketed performances.
Rinconcito de Esperanza
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is organizing “Nichos y Dichos,” an exhibit and sale of artworks hand-crafted by members of the center’s MujerArtes Women’s Clay Cooperative. The exhibit and sale kicks off with a ticketed reception Sept. 21 at Rinconcito de Esperanza, where the featured 50-plus hand-painted pieces will reflect or bear “dichos,” or sayings that are part of oral tradition and a form of wisdom gifted through generations. The exhibit and sale ends Oct. 4.
Sociedad Cultural Hispanoamericana de San Antonio
The Hispanic Trails Cultural Festival will happen Oct. 13 at Wonderland of the Americas. The free event will offer music, folkloric dances and foods representative of multiple Latin American countries and cultures, as well as arts and crafts, and community services.
UTSA
Starlite Organization for the Arts will hold the inaugural International Latin Jazz and Arts Festival Oct. 5 at the UTSA Downtown Campus. The free, public music festival promises performances by the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Grammy-winning flutist Nestor Torres, the U.S. Army Latin Jazz Band, among other dance and music groups.
