Friday, September 15 marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States, and the greater Myrtle Beach area has a lot planned to celebrate the cultures.
The annual celebration began in 1968, with 'Hispanic Heritage Week,’ under President Lyndon Johnson, and in 1988, President Ronald Reagan made the observation a month long, from September 15 to October 15. The month was approved as law that same year.
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Hispanic Heritage month begins on September 15, because it’s the date Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua celebrate their Independence Day.
While Mexico’s Independence Day is on September 16, the celebrations begin on the night of September 15, with ‘El Grito de Dolores,’ or ‘The Cry of Dolores.’ It celebrates the night priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell, and gave the battle cry to free Mexico from Spain’s control.
Every year on September 15, the Mexico’s president greets a crowd of people from the National Palace’s balcony in Mexico City, and rings the same bell Hidalgo rang that night in 1810.
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Chile celebrates their Independence Day on September 18.
ONGOING
The Chapin Memorial Library in Myrtle Beach has a display for adults and children to learn about cultures, historic events, and landmarks. They have books in English, Spanish, and both languages at the library to help adults and kids become bilingual.
For Spanish speakers, they have a translated library card application, and a brochure of online services like audiobooks, games, and movies.
The Chapin Memorial Library is located at:
400 14th Ave N.
Myrtle Beach, SC
29577
Several book stores through the area, like Barnes & Noble, display books for the month celebrating the vibrant colors, food, languages, folklore, and other cultural elements.
The Myrtle Beach store is located within the Market Common:
3346 Reed Street
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
The Florence store is located in Magnolia Mall:
2701 David Mcleod Blvd Unit # 1200
Florence, SC 29501
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SATURDAY, SEPT. 23
The group “Latinos in Myrtle Beach” is hosting the “Mini Family Festival” and they’ll have vendor booths, food, music, and more family fun.
The event is at the Burges Community Center from 11 AM to 6 PM.
10299 SC-707
Myrtle Beach, SC
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27
The first of five movies showing at Coastal Carolina University's Fourth Annual Latin American Film Festival, Spider Thieves, screens at 5 p.m. There's an opening reception at 4 p.m., and the director of the film, Guillermo Helo, will be on hand for a question and answer session.
The movies are free and open to the public.
"Inspired by actual events, this teenage thriller is a unique social commentary on dreams, class, and unfulfilled expectations in contemporary Chile. Three teenage girls from a Santiago shanty town set in motion a plan to climb buildings and plunder expensive apartments. All they want is to have all the cool and trendy stuff they see advertised in TV commercials and department stores. Word spreads and soon enough they became the notorious 'spider thieves.'"
The Coastal Theater, Lib Jackson Student Union is located at:
100 Spadoni Park Cir
Conway, SC
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4
The second of five movies showing at Coastal Carolina University's Fourth Annual Latin American Film Festival, Los Lobos, screens at 5 p.m. Director Samuel Kishi will be on hand for a question and answer session.
"Max and Leo are 8 and 5 years old and have just immigrated to the US with their mother. Their days pass inside a tiny apartment, while they wait for their mother to come back, as they hold on to the hope of traveling to Disney. Max will have to grow up prematurely in order to understand his mothers motivations."
The movies are free and open to the public.
The Coastal Theater, Lib Jackson Student Union is located at:
100 Spadoni Park Cir
Conway, SC
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11
The third of five movies showing at Coastal Carolina University's Fourth Annual Latin American Film Festival, Nudo Mixteco, screens at 5 p.m. The film's director, Angeles Cruz, will be on hand for a question and answer session.
"Three lives intersect in a Mixtec community in the highlands of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. During the festival of San Mateo, patron saint of the similarly-named village, María, Esteban and Toña return to their birthplace."
The movies are free and open to the public.
The Coastal Theater, Lib Jackson Student Union is located at:
100 Spadoni Park Cir
Conway, SC
SATURDAY, OCT. 14
The 2nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Festival will have a live DJ, bounce house, local Hispanic vendors, food trucks, and a lot more!
“Come and support our local Hispanic community,” an event poster states. “Everyone is welcome!”
The event takes place from 9 AM to 2 PM, in the Advance America parking lot of the Socastee area.
5022 Dick Pond Rd. #3
Myrtle Beach, SC
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18
The fourth of five movies showing at Coastal Carolina University's Fourth Annual Latin American Film Festival, On the Roof, screens at 5 p.m.
The movies are free and open to the public.
"Three young Cubans crowded into a decaying neighborhood of Havana imagine prosperous futures for themselves as they struggle to meet the demands of everyday life."
The Coastal Theater, Lib Jackson Student Union is located at:
100 Spadoni Park Cir
Conway, SC
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25
The fifth and final movie showing at Coastal Carolina University's Fourth Annual Latin American Film Festival, Solidarity Planet, screens at 5 p.m. There's a closing reception at 4 p.m., and producer Julio Matos will be on hand for a question and answer session.
The movies are free and open to the public.
"'Planeta Solidário' is a television series of 13 episodes of 26 minutes about the solidarity economy. Each episode deals with a theme related to this mode of production and social organization and presents successful experiences, public policies and alternative management strategies to the capitalist model."
The Coastal Theater, Lib Jackson Student Union is located at:
100 Spadoni Park Cir
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Conway, SC