National Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year, commemorates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
The celebration begins each year on Sept. 15, the anniversary of the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize also observe their independence days during this period.
Here’s how you can celebrate this rich tradition, history and culture in Denver during this special month.
Festivals & Special Events
Back to Top of ListDía de los Muertos
WHEN: Oct. 24, 2026
WHERE: Civic Center Park
This traditional Mexican and Mexican-American celebration brings the community together as a collective to honor the presence of our ancestors and loved ones who have passed.
Museum Exhibitions
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A Century of Art in Latin America (thru June 15, 2027)
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
From soaring mountains and scorching deserts to sprawling forests and splendid beaches, Latin America is a vast place. As a concept, it tries to contain cultures and landscapes with millennia of differing histories under one name. Works that artists from Latin America created during the 20th and current 21st century showcase a range of practices as complex as the places they call home. While previous exhibitions have centered around a single art movement, such as Surrealism or Abstraction, A Century of Art in Latin America will offer a broader and more inclusive exploration of the rich and varied artistic trends across the region. This exhibition will encompass an array of styles, time periods, nationalities and mediums, presenting a comprehensive survey of Latin American art throughout the past one hundred years.
Latin American Art Galleries
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
The Latin American Art gallery offers insights into more than five centuries of the shared stories of conquered and conquerors, and the arts that originated from a colonial situation of great complexity, featuring more than 3,000 works from Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Southwestern United States. Meanwhile, the John and Sandy Fox Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art gallery is dedicated to the museum’s acquisitions of modern and contemporary Latin American art, bridging the cultural narratives of the present and future and portraying a region in constant evolution.
Arts of the Ancient Americas Galleries
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
The reinstalled Frederick & Jan Mayer Galleries showcase Denver Art Museum’s renowned Latin American Art and Art of the Ancient Americas collections through a presentation of more than 1,000 rare works that present the expansive history of artistic creation in Latin America. The breadth of these collections, among the most comprehensive in the United States, encompasses 3,500 years of art and culture, revealing trends, relationships and discontinuities between art created in the region.
Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
Encompassing 16,000 square feet across two floors, the newly installed Modern and Contemporary Art galleries feature selections from the museum’s collection of approximately 7,000 artworks made between 1900 and today, as well as from collecting areas in African arts, Indigenous arts of North America, Latin American art, photography and textile art and fashion. Showcasing artists from around the globe, the reinstall looks anew at the work of historically recognized figures, established contemporary artists and important emerging voices. Organized by theme rather than chronology, the reinstallation acknowledges and transcends art historical movements, showcasing visual connections and common interests.
Ink & Thread
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
Ancient painter-scribes in Mesoamerica recorded histories, genealogies and prophecies in the pages of painted manuscripts known as codices. Ink & Thread: Codices and the Art of Storytelling at Denver Art Museum explores the visual language of both ancient American codices and contemporary examples by Mexican artist Enrique Chagoya. Like the ancient examples, Chagoya’s codices feature superheroes, offer histories of conquest and survival through a wry, tongue-in-cheek lens. Chagoya’s codices, along with graphic interventions by Eric Garcia, reclaim and amplify this ancient tradition for contemporary audiences. The gallery additionally features the Tillett Tapestry of the Conquest of Mexico by British-American textile designer Leslie Tillett, a monumental work that replicates scenes from surviving Central Mexican and Maya codices and recounts the Conquest of Mexico. A recent gift of Tillett’s preparatory studies provides rare insight into his extensive research process.
Tiempo y Lugar
WHERE: Museo de las Americas
The Museo de las Americas has reopened its Latin American Art Gallery of the Ancient Americas. This permanent art gallery showcases the museum's extensive Latin American archaeological collection, featuring artifacts from across the Americas, from the cultures of South, Central and Mesoamerica. Its first exhibition in this newly reopened gallery is Tiempo y Lugar, which highlights the cultural, historic, technological and artistic advancements of our ancestors. The focal point of this exhibition is undeniably the newly restored, historically accurate model of The Temple of the Magician, located at the Mayan archeological site in Uxmal, Mexico. Featuring the image of Chaac, the Mayan God of Rain, visitors can explore and learn about this ancient temple and the people who worshiped there.
La Misión
WHERE: Museo de las Americas
This semi-permanent exhibit at Museo de las Americas explores the artwork produced as a result of the Spanish monarchy sending priests (Padres) to convert the indigenous Puebloan residents of the Rio Grande River Valley. Housed in the Tragen Folk Art Gallery, it features roughly 20 unique pieces of art that date from the 17th century to the present and explores the narrative of the peoples living in the Rio Grande River Valley. Featuring artwork from Museo’s private collection, the exhibit examines the visual language unique to the colonial artwork of New Mexico. The gallery has been made reminiscent of a mission church interior, to provide an appropriate space and context for the many Santos, retablos and other artworks in the exhibit.
Borderlands of Southern Colorado
WHERE: History Colorado Center
Presented at History Colorado Center in English and Spanish, Borderlands explores the shifting geopolitical history of southern Colorado. This area, framed by mountains and rivers, is naturally conducive to unique and resilient forms of cultural connection. An international border crossed over the people in this region, changing their lives forever, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo moved a portion of the U.S.–Mexico border from the Arkansas River — which flows through the middle of Colorado — down to the Rio Grande in 1848.
Food & Drink
Back to Top of ListLuna Lounge (TBA 2026)
Centro Mexican Kitchen in Boulder is excited to introduce Luna Lounge, a Thursday night event from 9–11 p.m. on the patio. Enjoy great food, drinks and a live DJ under the stars. Gather your friends and join us every Thursday for an unforgettable evening.
Music, Movies & Live Performances
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Colorado Symphony
Día de los Muertos Celebration with the Colorado Symphony
WHEN: Nov. 1, 2026
WHERE: Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex
Featuring a narrated story, vocal performances and a costume contest, this celebration invites audiences of all ages to explore how we remember and honor loved ones through music.
Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra’s Latin Jazz Ensemble – A Month of Latin Jazz (TBA 2026)
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra’s Latin Jazz Ensemble brings the heat with an exciting series of concerts filled with Brazilian grooves and Central American rhythms. The series features several of the region’s best Latin jazz artists while highlighting the vocal talents of Marion Powers.
Youth Events
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Please check back for updates.
Latin Dancing Year-Round
Back to Top of ListDance Clubs
Colorado New Style Dance specializes in Latin dance and offers a wide variety of classes for adults and kids. Various levels of salsa, bachata, capoeira and other classes are available. Also on the list are bachata dancing with lessons on Tuesdays and Latin Dance Parties on Thursdays at Blue Ice Lounge. More salsa and bachata lessons take place at La Rumba on Thursdays through Sundays.
Radio Shows
Looking to hear the best of new and classic Latin American music? Tune in every Sunday to KUVO JAZZ (89.3 FM) at 4 p.m. for Super Sonido with La Molly. The show highlights various Latin American genres, many of which are not well-known in the U.S., as well as local Latino musicians who deserve to be on your playlist. Hosted by the multi-talented DJ La Molly, who is also the co-founder of the Latino arts collective Ciudad Reina, the show is enormously popular with Denver’s Latino community. You can listen to archived shows on KUVO’s website.