Item 2. Staff Report — original pdf

Backup

5.6.26 MACC Staff Report Website - Facebook – Instagram Please share our social media posts, sign up for our newsletter, and check out our upcoming events! Casa de la Cultura Upcoming: Raices Vivas – Growing Families, Growing Roots Last Wednesday of the Month. First Workshop: May 27th 6:00pm – 7:00pm MACC Community Garden Join us as we learn the history and traditions of our favorite Mexican herbs, spices and vegetables by gardening and creating dishes from family recipes, herbal and botanical traditions. 5/27: Native Wildflowers (Community Planting Day) Join our community this May as we plant native wildflowers for our bees, bats and butterflies and sow seeds to celebrate Spring in the gardens. Cumbia Para MACC – Cumbia Dance Class June 8th – July 27th 7:00PM – 8:00PM MACC Dance Studio Join us for a dynamic, beginner-friendly dance workshop series celebrating the richness of Mexican culture through movement and music. Learn why cumbia is for everyone! This multi-week program introduces participants to foundational styles in cumbia through regional rhythms, while exploring the cultural traditions and history behind each dance. We focus on the styles of cumbia sonidera and cumbia tropical. Dulces a Traves del Tiempo – Dessert Making Workshop Series June 13th – July 25th MACC Cocina Join us for a six-week workshop series centered on Latinidad and the delicacies traditionally served at celebrations. Participants will learn the techniques, styles, and designs of multiple desserts, including buttercream piping, cake structuring & decorating, cookie decorating, and baking more traditional treats like polvorones. Through accessible, beginner-friendly instruction, students will dive deep into discussions of shared cultural experiences and create their own versions of desserts rooted in tradition, completing the series with a celebration of the skills learned and connections made. Students will walk away with a dessert after each workshop and a communal recipe book to inspire them to keep traditions alive for future generations Movimiento Ancestral - Toltec Inspirited Movement Coming June 2026 MACC Dance Studio Movimiento Ancestral is a grounding and empowering class inspired by Indigenous Mesoamerican traditions that honor the connection between body, breath, spirit, and the natural elements. Through intentional movement and mindful breathing, we explore symbolic postures that honor the four directions — East, South, West, and North — representing new beginnings, inner fire, emotional flow, and grounding wisdom. This Toltec postures invite participants to reconnect with their bodies, cultivate balance, and awaken inner strength while experiencing movement as a path to healing, cultural connection, and personal empowerment. Open to all levels and all bodies. Coloring Colorado – Toddler Storytime Coming June 2026 Son Jarocho: Zapateado y Jarana – Music and Dance from Veracruz Mexico Coming June 2026 Youth and Family Education Past: Sabados en Familia – April 11th, 2026 Cepeda Branch Library – Teatro Sin Fronteras Teatro Sin Fronteras was our guest instructor for this monthly event. Teatro Sin Fronteras is a multilingual arts company based in the U.S., Mexico Borderlands. They have produced multilingual performances across the Southwest and recently published Codex Miquiztli, their first illustrated book. They read their book based on codices and participants made their own codices (books)! We had about 15 participants and they all gave us great feedback on the lesson and activity! They were asking about taking classes to learn Nahuatl! Education Outreach: Thinkery Children’s Day - April 28, 2026 Participation: 400 families We joined the Thinkery and Avance in celebrating Children’s Day with our Sabores en Latinoamérica tour! Families were invited to join us as we decorated aprons, explored a variety of fruits from across Latin America, and created a refreshing Venezuelan fruit punch called tizana. Along the way we discovered how STEAM concepts, like mixtures and solutions, come to life in everyday cooking. Families loved the activity and many came back for seconds! Lending Library: The Lending Library team visited four sites in April: Hancock, Dittmar, A.B. Cantu Pan American, and Northwest Recreation Centers. In total, they served 222 participants this month. Our final three-week session was hosted at Northwest and Pan Am Recreation Centers with a focus on food and agriculture. Students learned about food from the Americas and made tortillas, arepas, and agua de jamaica. The staff also created a Jeopardy game that focused on the lessons and the ESB-MACC. Students making agua de jamaica at Pan Am Recreation Center Arepa class at Pan Am Recreation Center Communities in Schools Smart Kids Program (CIS): The CIS team continued their year-long afterschool programs at four sites including Meadowbrook, Booker T. Washington, Boudin Oaks, and Chalmers apartments. Arts activities included making papagayos (kites) from Venezuela, papier-máché piñatas, alebrije pop-up cards, felt hand puppets, and lotería cards. At Booker T. Washington, students learned about Chanchitos, small clay three-legged pigs popular in Chile as good luck charms that are given to others as gifts. The students made their own air- dry clay pigs. All of the sites hosted end of the year celebrations during the last week of programming. Lotería card from students at Booker T. Washington, Piñata from Meadowbrook students Alebrije pop-up card from students at Chalmers. Upcoming: Sabados en Familia – May 9 Ruiz Library, Grove Blvd This is the LAST Sabados en Familia of the season! Join us for a heartwarming celebration of family, heritage, and the stories that connect us across generations. Together, we'll read Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal, and we’ll discover how a single name can carry the weight of an entire family's legacy. After the bilingual story time, we'll explore the magic of photography! A picture is never just an image on paper, but a frozen moment in time, a living memory waiting to be revisited. Decorate your very own photo album, a keepsake you'll treasure for years to come, and strike a pose for a portrait by the talented Minerva Villa, who will capture your family's story in a single, beautiful frame. Come ready to celebrate the family you have, honor the family who came before, and create memories that will last a lifetime! Caminos Teen Leadership Program Past: Caminos Team Leads helped support Teen In leadership training by providing information regarding the ESB-MACC and Caminos Teen Leadership Program. Caminos team leads also decorated the event as a thank you to Tilt for providing hospitality at Breaking Barriers last month. Teens supporting Teens in the City of Austin. Past: Outreach and Marketing BookSpring Festival, 1807 W Slaughter Ln BLDG 1, Austin, TX 78748 Saturday, May 2 12:00pm-5:00pm Attendance: 250 families BookSpring’s mission is to ignite a love of reading by engaging young children in under-resourced areas of Texas with no-cost, high-interest books and literacy programming that supports family-focused learning. The outreach and education team offered face painting and information about the MACC’s reopening. Families in attendance were excited to visit the MACC when it opens! Mexic-Arte Cinco de Mayo Festival Republic Square Park Saturday, May 2 10:00am-3:00pm At this annual event that celebrates Cinco de Mayo and culinary traditions of Mexico (used to be “Taste of Mexico”), MACC outreach was able to network with the organizers and attendees. Olivia passed out reopening flyers and got to speak with Austin Downtown Alliance, Austin Saltillo Sister Cities Upcoming: Grand Reopening The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Presents: Juntos de Nuevo: Grand Reopening of the ESB MACC We invite you to celebrate the long-awaited reopening of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center! After almost three years of construction, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB MACC) invites the public back to its newly expanded and renovated building on Saturday, June 6 with a Grand Reopening Celebration. The event takes place from 11:00am-9:00pm at 600 River Street, Austin TX 78701. May 18-22 - "Semana de Prevista" Preview Month. Limited programs available to the public as previews of future programming. May 20-21 - "Media Days" Local news media can request a "first look" at the space, tours, interviews with MACC staff. June 6 - Large Public Reopening Event. This is the date that the City of Austin will officially inaugurate the building. The reopening event also coincides with the re-opening date for the neighboring Confluence Park with Waterloo Greenway. Schedule: 11:00am-12:00pm: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony & Announcements 12:00pm-9:00pm: Guided Tours, Activities, Food Trucks, Artisan Market, Workshops, Art Exhibits, and Music and Dance Performances on the (Outdoor) Zocalo Stage On June 6, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center invites the Austin community to join us in celebration of our Grand Reopening. This large-scale, family friendly event is open to all. There are no tickets or RSVPs required. There will be a free shuttle bus service from East Holly St. neighborhood to the ESB MACC. Event updates (such as performance schedules, parking/shuttle info, etc.) will be posted on the event webpage (https://www.austintexas.gov/macc/grand-reopening and on social media (@ESBMACC) Get Involved: • Apply to be a vendor at the event. All rules are listed in the vendor application form. • RSVP on Facebook and Eventbrite Event Highlights: • Outdoor stage with live music under the Zocalo. Additional performances will be featured in the Auditorium & Zocalo lookout, including Mariachi • Tours of newly renovated indoor & outdoor spaces featuring all-ages arts, dance, music, theater, and culinary workshops. • Free children’s art activities in the new youth education classrooms • Art exhibits on view in the Community Gallery (1st floor) and in the Sam Z. Coronado Gallery (2nd floor). • Community Resource Fair featuring local nonprofits. • Artisan Vendor Market supporting local Latino/a/e entrepreneurs. ESB MACC initial opening in 2007- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Related Information: ESB MACC Phase 2 Official Project Page ESB MACC Phase 2 History & Role in the Community