People across the country know about Cinco de Mayo, but folks in San Antonio know Dieciséis de Septiembre is where it's at. To celebrate the Mexican independence day — the beginning of Hispanic Heritage month — the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture and the Diez y Seis de Septiembre Commission are throwing another month of parties, parades, performances, and more.

Fiestas Patrias and Hispanic Heritage month celebrations are starting before the big day, and some of them continue well into fall. But now's the best time of year to go out and explore Hispanic culture-driven events and exhibits, which include surreal art, kids' workshops, and outdoor festivals.

For those who need a refresher, Hispanic Heritage Month is a national month of observation that runs from September 15 to October 15. Dieciséis de Septiembre, or September 16, marks the 1810 date of Mexico's independence from Spain, which immediately pertained to Texans because the territory was part of Mexico at the time.

In 2024, the official kickoff event happens at the Centro de Artes Gallery on September 10, with some visitors representing the organizing committee. Those include executive director of the Department of Arts & Culture Krystal Jones, council liaison to the San Antonio Diez y Seis Commission Phyllis Viagran, Cónsul General of Mexico in San Antonio Dr. Rubén Minutti, Interim Chair of the Diez y Seis Commission Mari Ayala-Sandoval, and finally Dieciséis Parade grand marshall Aaron Peña.

After the 11:30 presentation, the Guadalupe Dance Company will give a special performance. The program, which blends traditional and contemporary dance styles, is part of the the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and offers classes for dancers of all levels.

Aside from the kickoff, the Fiestas Patrias directory on the city website contains nearly 60 events throughout the festival's duration. Even better, mosts of them are free.

Library visitors can learn to make a mini donkey piñata.getcreativesanantonio.com

Some interesting selections include:

• Newspaper Boys: Ayer y Hoy en San Anto, a visual, sometimes abstract history of the boys who delivered the news on foot or on bicycles
• 20th anniversary screening of A Day Without A Mexican, a mockumentary that imagines like in California after all of its Hispanic population has disappeared
• MACRI Talk: Remembering Conquest - How Memories of the US-Mexico War Shaped Civil Rights Struggles, a talk about ongoing Mexican Americans' civil rights struggles since 1848
• Avenida Guadalupe Association’s 43rd Annual Dieciséis de Septiembre Parade, with a route through San Antonio’s historic Mexican American district
• Mini Donkey Piñata for Adults, a workshop for making a small donkey friend to share candy with
• Salsa Cook Off, a chance to show off and try the city's best salsas
• Outdoor Family Film Series: Encanto, a showing of the smash hit Disney film
• Introduction to Genealogy/Introducción a la Genealogía, a workshop for beginners learning how to explore their family's history through San Antonio Public Library resources
• Raza Cósmica: Xicanx Versus Aliens, a live podcast taping that explores the paranormal, aliens, and more though a person of color's lens
• Sixth Hispanic Trails Cultural Festival, a festival celebrating food, music, dance, and other contributions from 14 Latin American-Hispanic countries

CultureMap also did a deeper dive into one of the exhibits that opened earlier in September, Dining with Rolando Briseño: A 50-Year Retrospective. This career retrospective focuses on the artist's collage-like drawings and paintings centered on food and Mexican-American culture. He'll be giving a talk as one of the last events during the city's Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations, on October 17.

Briseño's retrospective will be on display through February 9. Photo courtesy of City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture

A full list of events is available at getcreativesanantonio.com.