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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the Met!



I want to go to New York this weekend. Want to know why?

This coming Saturday, September 24th, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will be holding the special event, ¡Fiesta! Celebrating Hispanic and Latin American Cultures. The all-day, Museum-wide festival celebrates the richness of Hispanic and Latin American art and cultures. Take the whole family and enjoy gallery experiences, performances, art-making activities for all ages—and more! The event will run from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The event will begin on the front steps with a procession led by performers from the band Mariachi Real de México into the Great Hall of the Museum. From there visitors can join a number of different Family Programs taking place throughout the day, including intergenerational How Did They Do That? demonstrations focusing on both Spanish armor and Andean featherwork; Storytime in Nolen Library featuring books written in Spanish and in Spanish and English; and artist-led Drop-in Drawing workshops for all ages in the Vélez Blanco Patio, the Met's Spanish courtyard.

In addition to these activities, there will also be an Early Music Foundation Performance of 17th-century Spanish music and dance at 12:30 p.m., which will be set against the Museum's dramatic Spanish Choir Screen in the Medieval Galleries, and a Salsa Dance Workshop at 2:30 p.m. with dancers and an instructor from Ballet Hispanico. At 3:30 p.m., Mariachi Real de México will lead a second procession, this time from the Great Hall to the Museum's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium for Mexico in the Heart, a two-hour musical performance led by Jeff Nevin, featuring soprano Mónica Abrego, tenor Jose Luis Duval, The Villalobos Brothers, Mariachi Academy of New York, and Ballet Folklorico Raíces de México.

While you are there, you should stop in and see their Andean Tunic exhibit that features around 30 beautiful tunics! A great way to study South American culture and traditional costume. Make it a field trip!

Also, learn more about their programs for Spanish-speaking families. (How exciting is that?)

Now, how many of you live in the New York area?
 
Con mucho cariño....