Norton to host free community day celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

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Set for Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the event celebrates the spectrum of cultures, ethnicities and nationalities that call Latin America home.

Dance to bachata, munch on steaming tamales and build your own sugar skull magnet during the Norton Museum’s Nuestra Cultura Community Day.

The free event in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month is set for Oct. 5 and will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the halls and garden of the museum at 1450 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. The Norton has staged the festival since 2019.

The event's name, which translates to “our culture," celebrates the spectrum of cultures, ethnicities and nationalities that define Latin America's history, said Glenn Tomlinson, the museum's William Randolph Hearst chief officer of learning and community engagement.

“For non-Hispanic guests, Nuestra Cultura Community Day is an opportunity to explore the richness of so many cultures that we might overlook in our busy lives,” he told the Daily News.

It kicks off with a taíno areyto, a ceremonial dance performed by the Florida Taíno Dancers, at the museum’s Great Hall.

Throughout the day, community partners will have tables where guest can learn more about the various local organization supporting Palm Beach County’s Hispanic residents.

Participants can also join resident teaching artist Amaya Estrada at Classroom 1 and design their own calavera, or Mexican sugar skull, magnet. Or they can head to Classroom 2, and build their own pocket personal space, known as a portable shrine or travel altar with resident teaching artist Lymari Cuevas. Both activities run from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Like board games? Head to the museum's colonnades from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and learn how to play dominoes with the Puerto Rican Cultural Society of Palm Beach County.

For those looking to explore the museum, the Norton staff will also lead English-speaking or Spanish-speaking tours of the museum’s collection. At 2 p.m., guest can join Tomlinson at the Stiller Auditorium, where he’ll interview local Spanish sculptor Luis Montoya.

Throughout the day, hungry guests can stop by the Norton’s restaurant and select from its offering of Latin American treats, including empanadas, tamales and pastelitos. Latin American beers and special cocktails will also be on the menu.

Burn off calories during the event’s 2 p.m. dance class, where participants will learn the basic steps and rhythm of bachata, merengue and salsa, led by dance instructor Jan Clancy.

Those not looking to break a sweat can check out the day's two musical performances.

At 1 p.m., the romantic melodies of tango will fill the museum’s great hall, as Miami Tango’s Mariano Bejarano and Carolina Balmaseda dance to the backing of the Tango Bardo orchestra, an Argentinian quintet led by singer Roberto Minondi.

Tomlinson said the performance came as a surprise opportunity, as the orchestra just happened to be in the U.S. visiting Miami.

“So we were able to reach out to Miami Tango and make that connection. So that was just terrific luck,” he said.

Closing the day will be Pedro Vilanova and Tamboricua Miami performing one of Puerto Rico’s oldest music genre’s, plena and bomba, a percussion-based dance and music tradition developed in the 17th century by enslaved Africans working on the island's sugar plantations.

While the genre is famed for its infectious rhythms, Tomlinson noted its storied history as a platform for disseminating news and stories during Spaniard colonial rule over the island.

More than 700 people attended last year's event, and Norton museum officials are expecting a larger crowd this year.

“We welcome more visitors each year to Nuestra Cultura,” said Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin director & CEO of the Norton, in a prepared statement. “They come to learn, to be entertained, and to be inspired.”

For more information, visit www.norton.org or call 561-832-5195.

Community partners include Caridad Center, DePorres P.L.A.C.E., El Sol, Farmworkers Coordinating Council, Guatemala Maya Center, Palm Beach County School District Dual-Language program, Latinos in Action and Latin Quarter.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.

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