¡Fiesta! at the Met Celebrates Hispanic and Latin Cultures, 10/5
By: Christina Mancuso Oct. 04, 2013
¡Fiesta! Celebrating Hispanic and Latin American Cultures-a museum-wide cultural celebration held during Hispanic Heritage Month with an emphasis on family programming-will be presented on Saturday, October 5, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art by the Museum's Multicultural Audience Development Initiative and the Museum's Education Department. The Metropolitan's sixth annual ¡Fiesta! will feature programs for all ages from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., offering visitors exhibition-inspired art-making workshops, music performances, a poetry workshop, and other exciting activities related to Precolumbian, Spanish, and Latin American art from the Museum's collection. All of the ¡Fiesta! events are free with Museum admission.
¡Fiesta! is made possible by the Great Circle Foundation, the New York Yankees Foundation, and The Goodman Memorial Foundation.Events and ProgramsThe festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the Museum's Great Hall with an opening dance performance by Calpulli Danza Mexicana. At 1:30 and 2:00 p.m., visitors can participate in an introductory lesson on Spanish Flamenco dance led by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana in the Vélez Blanco Patio. Also at 1:30, and again at 2:30, visitors are invited into the Museum's Samuel H. and Linda M. Lindenbaum Galleries to hear stories rooted in TaÃno culture told by storyteller Bobby González. Poets from the Nuyorican Poets Café will host workshops at 2:30for visitors ages 7-12, and 3:30 for visitors ages 13 and up, during which participants will be invited to write their own verses in the Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall. Workshop participants will then be invited to perform their verses live during a reading at 5:00 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. in The Charles Engelhard Court, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana will perform, followed by a 4:00 p.m.performance of Mexican folkloric dance by Calpulli Danza Mexicana. All-female mariachi bandMariachi Flor de Toloache will give the day's closing performance at 4:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. Additionally, there will be a number of ongoing activities for families from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., including a weaving workshop and demonstration, featuring artist Ruben Marroquin from Weaving Hand, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800; a photography workshop inspired by the photographs of Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco and presented in conjunction with the exhibition Everyday Epiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969; a drawing workshop with educators from the Hispanic Society of America and the Met, where visitors can create work inspired by the intricate patterns found in artworks from Islamic Spain in the Museum's Patti Cadby Birch Gallery and Koç Family Galleries; and an exploration of the exhibition Feathered Walls: Hangings from Ancient Peruthrough touch, sight, and conversation.
¡Fiesta! program information and directions to events throughout the Museum will be available at the Information Desk inside the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, and in the Uris Center for Education, located near the ground-floor entrance at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street. All¡Fiesta! programs are free with Museum admission. Recommended Museum admission is $25 for adults, $17 for seniors (65 and over), and $12 for students. Children under 12 accompanied by an adult are free.About the Multicultural Audience Development Initiative
The Multicultural Audience Development Initiative began more than 10 years ago at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It reflects the Museum's founding mission to educate and inspire by reaching out to all of its constituencies, including the many diverse communities of the New York Tristate area. Its objectives are to increase awareness of the Museum's global collections and programs, to diversify its visitorship and Membership, and to increase participation in its programs.
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