Starting September 15, a full range of special events and art and academic projects will be held during National Hispanic Heritage Month at Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County’s 17 locations.  With close to 20 percent of all Club members identifying as Latino or Hispanic, the organization already provides safe spaces and will provide fun, educational and creative art programming for our members to help members celebrate their Hispanic identities and share their cultures.

“Introducing children to the arts and creativity cultivates a sense of well-being and helps them create connections between themselves and others,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County Cultural Arts Program Manager Casandra Tanenbaum. “Our goal for Hispanic Heritage Month is to traverse the globe with our Club members and celebrate the many treasures of the Hispanic and Latino culture by learning about the art forms they’ve introduced to the world.”

Some of the highlighted programs for Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration include Flamenco and Cumbia dancing and Club members creating ‘Calaveras’ (sugar skulls).

Our Club kids will discover the ancient Mexican tin art of ‘Hojalata’ and Amate painting, the traditional Mexican style of painting bold colors on tree bark. Amate-style painting is a folk art that links to the ancient civilizations of Mexico’s past. This month, they will also learn about the surrealism art movement and the artist Salvador Dali, and the allure of larger-than-life Colombian puppetry.

While National Hispanic Heritage is a month-long celebration, the event crosses over two calendar months – running Sept. 15th to Oct. 15th – coinciding with the Independence Day celebrations of Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua.

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