Written By: Claire H. at Pacifica Libraries
San Mateo County Libraries is looking forward to Latinx Heritage Month, which spans from September 15 through October 15! We love celebrating the Latinx community year-round, but this is a special time to highlight the social and cultural contributions of this essential part of our community. Keep your eyes out for special storytimes, Power Up Afternoon activities and even some art table fun during Latinx Heritage Month at your local library. You're invited to join us for some incredible events featuring music, art and even lowriders!
Music and Poetry
Go on a musical adventure through Latin America with Duamuxa: A Musical Voyage Through Latin America. Duamuxa’s performances weave the unique musical styles of different Latin American countries with the poetry of famous Latin American bards.
Edgardo & Trio La Tido Presents Nuestra Musica highlight the wide variety of percussive instruments in the Latin American musical tradition with performances in Spanish and bilingual introductions.
For younger audiences, we have a special bilingual storytime with Mariela’s Music. Mariela incorporates song and dance, while teaching children about different kinds of instruments. Her storytimes are always dynamic, playful and a great opportunity for family fun.
Art and Activism
This Block Printing and Artivism art program for adults showcases the various Latinx uses of printmaking as protest. Participants will learn about linoleum block printing and practice putting their block prints on rice paper. Instruction will be offered in English and Spanish, and participants can bring in t-shirts or bags for printing if they wish.
Low and Slow
Experience the wild hydraulics and beautiful colors of lowrider cars at the library! Ricardo Cortez will share his book The ABCs of Lowriding and lead an art activity. Meanwhile, there will also be lowriders on view in the parking lot. Please note anyone is invited to view the lowriders, but registration in the art activity is limited to children.
Recommended Reads for Latinx Heritage Month
Looking for Latinx titles to enjoy this month? We have curated collections for all ages to learn about Latinx culture and experiences.
For your little ones, check out Latinx Heritage Month: Recommendations for Children, featuring family friendly stories about Carnaval, a biblioburro and Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court justice.
For teens and young adults, this Latinx Heritage Month: Recommendations for Young Adults list is full of heavy-hitters about the trials many Latinx teens face. For those interested in diving deeper into conversations about identity and queerness in Latinx culture, we also created a Latinx Heritage Month: Pride for Teens List.
For adults, this Latinx Heritage Month: Adult Recommendations list includes stories about the significance of your homeland and how identity can change throughout generations.
This Latinx Heritage Month, we hope you join us in celebrating this vibrant culture!
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