San Antonio takes annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration online
- City of San Antonio
For 25 years, Folklorico dancers and the ring of trumpets and violins down the street marked the celebration of Mexican independence and Hispanic Heritage month in San Antonio. This year, the streets may be largely empty to avoid the spread of coronavirus, but the Fiestas Patrias will continue online.
The City of San Antonio has partnered with the Diez y Seis de Septiembre Commission to carry on the celebration of Mexican and Hispanic culture in the city with a series of events held in the virtual space. Events will stream on the Department of Arts and Culture’s website, YouTube channel, and TVSA.
“Although we can’t gather in person this year, the Fiestas Patrias San Antonio programming will allow us to commemorate the occasion by bringing these meaningful traditions into our homes,” Roberto C. Treviño, District 1 Councilman and Honorary Diez y Seis Commission Chair, said in a press release.
The series begins on Tuesday, September 15 with a livestream of El Grito San Antonio, featuring music and dance performances.
El Grito represents the call to arms priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave in 1810 when he rang his bell and touched off the insurgencies across the country against the colonial Spanish government. As part of the commemoration, at the same time in Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will recite Hidalgo y Costilla’s legendary speech and ring the church bell that was tolled more than two centuries ago.
After El Grito San Antonio, other events on the schedule include the Avenida Guadalupe Diez y Seis Parade, a charreada, a Mariachi Festival and Vida Mi Cultura, a Guadalupe Dance Company performance.
“This year, we will observe Mexican Independence Day and Hispanic Heritage Month in a different way, while continuing to focus on the shared culture, friendship and solidarity that bind San Antonio and Mexico,” Consul General of Mexico Rubén Minutti Zanatta said in a statement.
Free, 8 p.m. Sept. 15, City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture and Youtube, getcreativesanantonio.com.
Get our top picks for the best (online!) events in San Antonio every Thursday morning. Sign up for our Events Newsletter.
