Montgomery County Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Montgomery County will kick off Hispanic Heritage Month – September 15 to October 15 – with a celebration on Thursday, September 16 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Executive Office Building Auditorium, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville.

County Executive Isiah Leggett and County officials will present a proclamation commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month in Montgomery County and honoring Montgomery County’s Latino Parents and Students in Action (Padres y Alumnos Latinos en Acción- Grupo PALA). A panel titled Latinos in Montgomery County: Past, Present, and Future will feature Dr. Jorge Hernandez-Fujigaki with Montgomery College; Dr. Mark Hugo Lopez with the Pew Hispanic Center; and Kate Garvey, co-chair of the Latino Youth Collaborative and Chief of Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez will make closing remarks. The event will conclude with a musical performance by Tambores de San Juan, a Venezuelan drum ensemble.

The free event is co-hosted by the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships and the Montgomery County Government Hispanic Employees Association and is open to the public.

Below is a full calendar of events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in Montgomery County.

• September 16, Hispanic Heritage Month Kick-off Panel Discussion on Latinos in Montgomery County: Understanding our Past, Present and Future; Executive Office Building Auditorium, 101 Monroe St., Rockville, 4 p.m.
• September 18, Mayan Calendar in the Planetarium, Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, 7600 Takoma Ave., 7 p.m.
• September 18, Rockville’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Rockville Town Square, 4 p.m.
• September 21 – October 13, XXI American Film Institute Latin American Film Festival, The AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Check the website at www.AFI.com for show times.
• September 23, Bilingual Lecture and Book Discussion of “Malinche” (written by Laura Esquivel) Rockville Memorial Library, 21 Maryland Ave., 6:30 p.m.
• September 23, Celebración Latina: Band and Service Learning Information Session, Student Services Center Atrium, Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, 7625 Fenton St. 11 a.m.
• September 24, “Pistolera” Mexican Rock Concert, Cultural Arts Center Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, 7600 Takoma Ave., 7:30 p.m.*
• September 25, Dani Cortaza, Virtuoso Guitarist – Latin Jazz, Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia Avenue, 2 p.m.
• October 2, 10th Annual Housing Fair and Financial Fitness Day, Activity Center at Bohrer Park: 506 S. Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg, 10 a.m.
• October 2, Cantaré, Songs and Rhythms of Latin America, Aspen Hill Library, 4407 Aspen Hill Rd., Rockville, 10:30a.m.; and Germantown Library,19840 Century Boulevard, 2 p.m.
• October 2, Ritmos del Perú (Rhythms from Peru) Peruvian Dance, Marilyn J. Praisner Library, 14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, 2 p.m.
• October 6, Workshops of Brazilian Music, Black Box Theatre, Pavilion 4, Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, corner of Philadephia and Chicago avenues in Pavilion Four (Refugee Training Center), 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• October 7, From Storyteller to Advocate: Transforming Experience into Political Change. Student Activity Center, Montgomery College Rockville Campus, 51 Mannakee St., Advocacy session,11 a.m.; storytelling session 1:30 p.m.
• October 7, Origem- Concert of Brazilian Jazz, Montgomery College Music Recital Hall, 51 Mannakee St., Rockville, 7:30 p.m.
• October 9, Family Day / Día de la Familia, Theatre Arts Arena, Montgomery College Rockville Campus, 51 Mannakee St., 1 p.m.
• October 9, Community and Job Fair, Legacy Hotel, 1775 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 10 a.m.

*There is a fee associated with this event.

For more Hispanic Heritage Month events, go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/latino, or call the Office of Community Partnerships at 240-777-2525.