Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 to October 15, celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. We have planned a series of exciting events and activities to celebrate this month.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
September 15, 2021 at 6:00pm – YouTube Event
Special Hispanic Heritage Month Tertulia: Handsome, Clever, and Rich: Doña María Catalina de Urrutia, First Lady of Puerto Rico, 1783-89; portrayed in San Juan by José Campeche, 1788.
Guillaume Kientz, Director & CEO, will host a conversation via YouTube with Dr. Marcus Burke, Senior Curator of Paintings about our unique portrait of Doña María Catalina de Urrutia by Puerto Rican artist José Campeche, 1788. This special Tertulia (usually only available to members) is available to all in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
September 18, 2021 from 4:00- 6:00-pm – Audubon Terrace (Broadway between 155th and 156th Streets)
Hispanic Heritage Family Event
The Hispanic Society Museum & Library invites families to come to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with live music, children’s activities, refreshments and much more! Also, last chance to see the exhibition In the Heights: from University to Silver Screen.
September 21, 2021 – Video
Three Hispanic Women, Part 1: “Sevillanas s. XVIII,” and “Venid pajaritos.”
This one-hour long concert, released across four videos, will include spoken narration and pairings of paintings with musical and dance pieces. The Hispanic Society Museum & Library, in collaboration with Hispanic Culture Arts presents a concert performance filmed in the Sorolla Gallery entitled “Three Hispanic Women.” The series aims to bring to life three outstanding portraits from the museum’s collection, featuring life size facsimiles as backdrop to the concert. The performers are mezzo soprano Anna Tonna, Spanish dance artist Anna de la Paz, and classical guitarist Rupert Boyd.
Part 1 presents the traditional dance “Sevillanas s. xviii” and the song “Venid pajaritos” by Spanish composer Manuel García (1775-1832), as a pairing to La Duquesa de Alba by Spanish painter Francisco Goya y Lucientes (1799).
September 28, 2021-Video
Three Hispanic Women, Part 2: “Si mis ojos te dicen” and “Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart” by Fernando Sor
This one-hour long concert, released across four videos, will include spoken narration and pairings of paintings with musical and dance pieces. The Hispanic Society Museum & Library in collaboration with Hispanic Culture Arts presents a concert performance filmed inside the Sorolla Gallery entitled “Three Hispanic Women.” The series aims to bring to life three outstanding portraits from the museum’s collection, featuring life size facsimiles as backdrop to the concert. The performers are mezzo soprano Anna Tonna, Spanish dance artist Anna de la Paz, and classical guitarist Rupert Boyd.
Part 2 presents the dance seguidilla manchega, “Si mis ojos te dicen” and “Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart” for solo guitar, both by Spanish composer Fernando Sor (1778-1839), in this instance paired with La Duquesa de Alba by Spanish painter Francisco Goya y Lucientes (1799).
September 29, 2021 – The Grolier Club. 47 East 60th Street. New York
New Exhibition: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Library
September 29 –December 30, 2021 | Monday -Saturday 10:00-5:00pm | Free admission
This is the first major exhibition of Spanish and Latin American manuscripts and printed material in New York in almost forty years. Drawn exclusively from the Hispanic Society’s collections, the exhibition will include medieval charters, holograph royal letters, sailing charts from the Age of Exploration, letters patent of nobility, manuscript Bibles, books of hours, indigenous manuscripts from the Americas, as well as historical, scientific, and literary manuscripts that will provide a visual guide to the history of Spain and Latin America. It will be accompanied by printed material dating from the earliest incunables printed in Spain and Latin America through the eighteenth century.
October 5, 2021 – Video
Three Hispanic Women, Part 3: “Fandango y coplas,” “El marabú,” “Clarines suaves,” and “Fandango” by Luigi Boccherini
This one-hour long concert, released across four videos, will include spoken narration and pairings of paintings with musical and dance pieces. The Hispanic Society Museum & Library in collaboration with Hispanic Culture Arts presents a concert performance filmed inside the Sorolla Gallery entitled “Three Hispanic Women.” The series aims to bring to life three outstanding portraits from the museum’s collection, featuring life size facsimiles as backdrop to the concert. The performers are mezzo soprano Anna Tonna, Spanish dance artist Anna de la Paz, and classical guitarist Rupert Boyd.
Part 3 presents two sung fandangos, “Fandango y coplas” by Spanish composer Tomás Damas (1817-ca. 1880) and “El marabú” (traditional 18th century) arranged by José de Azpiazú (1912-1986), as well as the minuet “Clarines suaves” by Guatemalan composer José Manuel de Quirós (?-1765). Lastly, the “Fandango” movement from the Guitar Quintet No. 5 in D Major, by Spanish/Italian composer Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), in a special arrangement for solo guitar and castanet artists. This musical presentation is paired with Doña María Catalina de Urrutia by Puerto Rican painter José Campeche y Jordán (1788).
October 7, 2021 – YouTube Event
Special Hispanic Heritage Month Tertulia: Papel Picado. A Mexican folk art tradition!
Guillaume Kientz, Director & CEO, will host a conversation via YouTube with Dr. Margaret McQuade, Deputy Director & Curator of Decorative Arts about this unique tradition.
October 14, 2021 -Video
Three Hispanic Women, Part 4: “Bien lo pregonas” and “Convidando está la noche.”
This one-hour long concert, released across four videos, will include spoken narration and pairings of paintings with musical and dance pieces. The Hispanic Society Museum & Library in collaboration with Hispanic Culture Arts presents a concert performance filmed inside the Sorolla Gallery entitled “Three Hispanic Women.” The series aims to bring to life three outstanding portraits from the museum’s collection, with life size facsimiles featured as backdrop to the concert. The performers are mezzo soprano Anna Tonna, Spanish dance artist Anna de la Paz, and classical guitarist Rupert Boyd.
Part 4 begins with the Peruvian baroque piece “Bien lo pregonas”, by composer Esteban Ponce de León (1692-175?). The series concludes with the guaracha “Convidando está la noche” by Mexican composer Juan García Zéspedes (1619-1678). This last musical presentation concludes our four part series, and is paired with De mestizo y de india produce coyote (1720) by Mexican painter Juan Rodriguez Juárez.
October 15, 2021 – Hispanic Society Museum & Library. East Building Gallery. (Broadway between 155th and 156th Streets)
New Exhibition: Gilded Figures: Wood and Clay Made Flesh. Polychrome Sculpture at the Hispanic Society Museum & Library
October 15 – January 3, 2021 | Thursday – Sunday: 12:00-6:00pm |Free admission
This splendid exhibition will offer a rare glimpse of a major art form from the Hispanic World 1500–1800: polychrome sculpture. Building on the legacy which Archer M. Huntington left the museum, the institution has added to its holdings of this material so that today the HSM&L boasts the finest collection of these works outside Spain. Until recently, this vivid sculpture went largely unnoticed, but now it elicits enthusiastic responses. Even so, Gilded Figures is the first event in New York to feature this art form in the last 20 years. The over 20 sculptures exhibited will not only attest to the high level of artistic production, but they will also include major works by women artists and show how the stylistic conventions of Spain were adapted in the New World.
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH BOOK CLUB
The Hispanic Society has created a Reading List in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The list reflects a careful selection made by our Assistant Librarian, William Delgado, of prominent writers from Spain and Latin America whose literary works are found in the Hispanic Society’s Library. Happy reading!
A woman of genius. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648- 1695). Mexican writer of the Colonial period called the Tenth Muse. Like other gifted women of the time, she was a nun. This book is a defense of a woman’s right to get a formal education and exercise the office of writer.
Selected poems = Poemas escogidos. Pablo Neruda (1904 – 1973) Chilean poet. One of the most influential poets of the 20th century. Winner of the Nobel Prize in 1971. Recognized for his intense lyricism and the originality of his metaphorical language
Primera memoria. Ana María Matute, (1935-2014). Distinguished Spanish novelist. Member of the Hispanic Society. Winner of the Nadal prize for this novel. It is a story of coming of age and loss of innocence at the time of the Spanish Civil War
La muerte de Artemio Cruz. Carlos Fuentes (1928- 2012). Mexican writer. One of the most important names of the Latin American Literary Boom. Member of the Hispanic Society. The novel is set at the time of the Mexican Revolution
Los intereses creados. Jacinto Benavente (1866- 1954). Spanish playwright. Winner of the Nobel Prize in 1922. Member of the Hispanic Society. This is one of his most famous works. A brief and delightful comedy about conflicts of interest
Daughter of fortune. Isabel Allende (1942-). Chilean writer. One of most popular novelists in the world. This is the story of Eliza, who was abandoned at birth at the door of the Sommers, in Valpariso, Chile. It is set at the time of the 1849 California Gold Rush
The adventures and misadventures of Maqroll. Alvaro Mutis (1923- 2013). Colombian poet and novelist, creator of Maqroll the Lookout. Maqroll is full of lofty aspirations but always ends up getting unbelievably trivial jobs
Yo, el Supremo. Augusto Roa Bastos (1917- 2005). Distinguished Paraguayan writer. This novel tells the story of Dr. Francia, the controversial 19th century Paraguayan ruler who closed the country to any contact with the rest of the world
Antología poética. Alfonsina Storni (1892- 1938). Argentine poetess. Member of the Hispanic Society One of the most influential writers of her time. She drowned herself when she realized she was not curing from a breast cancer. Ray Gonzalez said: “This is a poetry of fatal beauty”
Tomorrow in the battle think on me. Javier Marías (1951- ) Spanish novelist. One of the most original Spanish writers of recent generations. This is an ambitious novel about infidelity and it is full of awkward and funny situations