Places to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month This Year Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Art Music and Community
Attend virtual and live events learn more about Latinx contributions to history
Boris Yaro/Getty Images Understanding how Latinx history fits into U.S. history is a key part of building community and culture. An exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., is breaking new ground and helping people understand those contributions as part of 2022’s National Hispanic Heritage Month. , an exhibit dedicated to the Latinx journey in America, honors icons including Toypurina, a Gabrielino medicine woman in California who rose up against Spanish colonizers; Celia Cruz, the Cuban American “Queen of Salsa Music”; and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on the nation’s highest court. The exhibit is a precursor to the . Legislation establishing the museum was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2020, and the project is under development. AARP is a founding donor. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. “Representation matters, and Latinas and Latinos deserve to understand how their histories fit into the national narrative of the U.S.,” says David Coronado, senior communications officer for the National Museum of the American Latino. “This exhibit introduces visitors to the stories of Latinas and Latinos who’ve shaped the U.S. from the perspectives of the people who lived them.” That effort aligns with the theme for Hispanic Heritage month: “Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation.” Across the country there are many ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, to recognize and honor the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Here are a few: Immerse yourself in arts and culture
Learn about Latin American heritage by visiting museum exhibits throughout the U.S. Many offer virtual experiences. LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is offering which features more than 90 works created between the years 1500 and 1800 including paintings, sculptures, fabric and furniture from countries including Ecuador, Mexico and Guatemala. Works by Puerto Rican artists Jose Campeche and Francisco Oller are on display at the exhibit starting Sept. 20 at Chicago’s National Puerto Rican Museum. The exhibit features 20 works by Puerto Rican artists that have never traveled outside of the island. Also in Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art is highlighting the work of painter Frida Kahlo, art programs for children and a new exhibit that opens Sept. 23. That installation uses art to honor community members who died from and includes Alex Carmona’s “La Salida” — a reduction woodcut on rice paper. fair on Sept. 17 in Denver, which will feature academic treatises, biographies, memoirs and historical fiction narrating Latinx contributions in the history of Colorado. The same day in Tucson, Arizona, author will read from her Chola Salvation story collection about the lives of Mexican-Americans. And for a deep dive into how Latinas view issues of race and ethnicity, the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida, will host a discussion with on Oct. 8. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Enjoy being serenaded by sounds
The 35th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards will honor a host of Latinx artists for their work in the arts, business, sciences and more. The awards, which will feature performances from top Hispanic artists, were created in 1987 by the White House to commemorate the establishment of Hispanic Heritage Month. The show will air Sept. 30 on PBS stations and stream on . There are plenty of ways to enjoy music in your own back yard that speak to salsa, , flamenco and other melodies with their roots in Hispanic culture. Start the fiesta with Cuban salsa group in Palm Beach, Florida. Learn more about the history of Latin American Music at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida, on Sept. 18, when musicologist Welson Tremura and Grammy winner José Valentino put on an about Latin American traditions in music. Blend music and dance with a in Dallas on Sept. 17. And Miami, which has the most Cubans outside of Cuba, will host its first from Oct. 14 to 16, featuring workshops and competition. Get a taste of Latin America
Flavors vary among regions of the Latin American diaspora. Learn how to make smoked cochinita pibil, a traditional Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish, during the demonstration on Sept. 17 at the Smithsonian’s American History Museum. Love all things spicy? Head to the in Pueblo, Colorado, from Sept. 23 to 25 for a taste test that might include chili ice cream or chili beer. The in Greenville, South Carolina, on Oct. 2 will offer a menu of traditional foods from 15 Latin American countries. With plenty of ways to celebrate, learn more about Hispanic Heritage through food, music, dancing and the arts. Lola Méndez is a contributing writer who covers travel, sustainability and social justice. Her work has appeared in USA Today and The Washington Post and on CNN. MORE FROM AARP AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Magazines & Resources offers > See more Home & Real Estate offers > See more Events offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS