KC Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month 2019

Special Exhibits and Performances

 

American Jazz Museum

• Sept. 26 – Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra: The premier Latin music ensemble of the Midwest performs at 7 p.m. at The Blue Room in the American Jazz Museum. Free.

Barney Allis Plaza

• Sept. 13-16 – 38^th Annual Fiesta Hispana: The Midwest’s largest Fiesta Hispana celebration. 5 p.m. Free.

Cerner

• Oct. 4: Guest speaker Daniel Silva, President & CEO of the KCK Chamber, will give a presentation in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. 10 a.m. Presented by Cerner Diversity at the Cerner Innovation Campus. 8779 Hillcrest Rd. Free.

Guadalupe Centers

• Sept. 21 – Blanco Y Negro Centennial Celebration: This annual Guadalupe Centers black-tie event kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month with Ana Navarro of The View as the keynote. 5 p.m.  Kansas City Convention Center (Grand Ballroom). Purchase tickets here.

Johnson County, KS

• Sept. 12: Johnson County Board of Commissioners program celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, 6-9:30 p.m. Johnson County Annex, 111 S Cherry St., Ste 3300, Olathe.

Johnson County Museum

• Sept. 26 – An Evening of Latino Art, Music & Poetry: This event features folk dancing, a live painter, a mini-art exhibit and more. Free. Reception begins at 5:30 at the Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave.

 

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

• Through July 19, 2020 – Angel Otero: Diaro: The debut of a new, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art-commissioned installation—the artist’s largest painting to date—by Puerto Rico-born, New York-based artist Angel Otero. 

Mattie Rhodes Center

All events held at the Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery, 919 W 17^th St.:

• Oct. 5 – Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Alter and Art exhibition opening reception (exhibition runs through Nov. 9). 6-10 p.m. Free.
• Oct. 6 – Annual Dia los Muertos Street Festival: 1-10 p.m.
• Nov. 2 – Closing reception and Calaca Street Parade: 6-10 p.m.

Northeast Arts KC

• Sept. 20 – Summer Dusk Free Concert Series: Featuring Marimba Sol de Chiapas at The Colonnade at Concourse Park, 7-9 p.m. Presented in partnership with Kansas City Parks and Recreation.

Olathe, KS

• Sept. 19: City of Olathe Mayor Michael Copeland will proclaim Sept. 15-Oct. 15 National Heritage Month and honor the Latinx community members. 7 p.m. City Hall, 100 E Santa Fe St.

 

Rio Theatre

• Through Oct. 7 – Latin American Cinema Festival presented by Sociedad Hidalgo: Films are in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission $6 or $25 for all five films. Cash only.

Studios, Inc.

• Sept. 13 – GEO/MATRIX Opening Reception for Miguel Rivera: See the solo exhibition for free through Oct. 18. Event begins at 6 p.m.

Kansas City Public Library

• Through May 31, 2020 – Kansas City Guadalupe Centers: A Century of Serving the Latino Community: This yearlong exhibit at the Kansas City Public Library chronicles the rich history and Guadalupe Centers’ role in creating and sustaining a vibrant Latino community. Curated by Sandra I. Enríquez, an assistant history professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and director of the university’s public history emphasis; Theresa Torres, an associate professor of Latinx and Latin American studies and sociology at UMKC; and UMKC master’s student Hunter Albright. Graduate and undergraduate history students at UMKC are contributing curators.

Available Year-Round

 

Murals

Downtown Overland Park touts a selection of Latinx-created murals that demonstrate the vast array of cultures which shape Kansas City life.

Kansas City, KS, is also home to several iconic murals by Latinx artists and depicting everything from traditional Mexican-American dance and fashion to the history and struggle of the people who settled in what is now KCK’s Argentine community.

 

Country Club Plaza

Many of the ceramic tiles that are found throughout the Spanish-inspired Country Club Plaza were created in a renowned workshop, Uriarte Talavera, in Puebla, Mexico.