ALMAAHH partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for the fourth annual Myths and Leyendas: Mujeres Fall Festival, a community celebration honoring Latin American and Latino art, culture, and storytelling through sculpture. Held at the Cullen Sculpture Garden, the free festival unveiled six new temporary installations created by eight Houston-based Latinx artists—Laura Cano, Angela Corson, Pedro Gutierrez-Zamora, Sandra de la Rosa, Jasmine Zelaya, and collaborators Victoria Armenta, Salima Bowaniya, and Bailey Serrano.

The commissioned works drew inspiration from women in myths and legends across Latin America, exploring themes of memory, migration, motherhood, resistance, and ancestral reverence. Visitors experienced an immersive day of art alongside live music, dance performances, hands-on art activities, film screenings curated by the Houston Latino Film Festival, and community traditions like Lotería. With generous support from presenting sponsor H-E-B, the festival welcomed thousands of attendees and reflected the MFAH’s ongoing commitment to Latin American and Latino art, while underscoring ALMAAHH’s mission to elevate Latino artists and cultural narratives within Houston’s vibrant arts ecosystem.

The Día de los Muertos celebration at City Place was a vibrant and heartfelt gathering filled with music, dance, art, food, and community. Artists, performers, and vendors brought color, creativity, and tradition to the plaza, creating a welcoming space for remembrance, connection, and celebration. The program featured powerful Azteca dance, lively performances by Shekere, and mariachi music by Tres Amigos, alongside family-friendly craft activities, a curated Día de los Muertos mercado, photo moments, and a 360° community altar where attendees could honor loved ones.

Even as rain arrived toward the end of the evening, the celebration continued—carried by the warmth, resilience, and shared spirit of the community. The event was a beautiful reminder of how Día de los Muertos brings people together across generations to celebrate memory, culture, and life. ALMAAHH extends deep gratitude to City Place for hosting, to all participating artists, performers, and vendors, and to everyone who joined us and made the evening so meaningful.

ALMAAHH partnered with the Houston Latino Film Festival to present the 4th edition of Cine de Muertos, a full-day festival honoring Día de los Muertos through film, art, and community. Held on October 25, 2025, at Aurora Chapel, the event brought together filmmakers, artists, poets, and audiences for a day of reflection, remembrance, and celebration centered on Latine storytelling traditions.

The program featured a curated selection of short films exploring themes of grief, memory, loss, and resilience, including works by directors Merced Elizondo, Adrien Boublil, Denise Chirich, Tania Ángeles Begún, and Luis Fernando Portales Ruiz. From intimate portraits of mourning to poetic explorations of collective memory, the films offered powerful perspectives on how Día de los Muertos continues to inspire contemporary cinema.

Cine de Muertos served as a space for connection across disciplines—bridging film, cultural tradition, and community gathering—while affirming the importance of storytelling as a way to honor ancestors, process loss, and keep cultural memory alive.

ALMAAHH partnered with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to present a national webinar exploring Art as an Investment in the American Latino Arts Market. Hosted from Simpson Thacher’s Houston office and broadcast across the firm’s offices nationwide, the program elevated Houston-based Latino artists to a national audience while offering valuable insight into collecting, design, and philanthropic engagement in the arts.

The conversation featured expert perspectives from Rosa Ana Orlando, independent curator and museum specialist, and Jessica Phifer, Director of Business Development and Art Advisory at The Fine Art Group, who shared their knowledge on fine art collecting and the evolving role of art in investment strategies.

The program also highlighted works by ALMAAHH artists Wood Anthony, Viri Ramos, Sandra de Rosa, Nela Garzon, and Gerardo Rosales, reinforcing the depth and diversity of Latino artistic production. We are grateful to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for their continued commitment to uplifting Latino voices, and to Flor y Miel for adding warmth and hospitality to the evening.

This collaboration exemplified how dialogue, visibility, and partnership can expand access and opportunity for Latino artists on a national scale.

ALMAAHH, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board, hosted a vibrant Hispanic Heritage Month Kick-Off Celebration at Houston City Hall that honored the vital role U.S. Latinos play in Houston’s history, culture, and future. The gathering highlighted how Latino communities are woven into the fabric of the city—shaping its identity, fueling its growth, and enriching its spirit.

With the support of the City of Houston, the event featured lively cultural performances, delicious bites by Flor y Miel, and an atmosphere filled with community, orgullo, and celebration. Community members, cultural leaders, and elected officials came together not only to mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, but to connect, reflect, and celebrate Latinidad in a shared civic space. The event also underscored ALMAAHH’s ongoing work toward establishing a landmark arts and cultures complex that authentically represents and celebrates Latino heritage in Houston.

On August 1, ALMAAHH, Nuestra Palabra, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston came together to present an unforgettable evening of poetry, prose, and visual art celebrating Cuban photography and the vibrant voices of American Latino writers.

With Professor Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, as our dynamic MC, the evening featured powerful readings and performances by Icess Fernández Rojas, Eva Skrande, and Phillip Diederich, weaving together stories that echoed the depth and beauty of Latin American and Cuban heritage.

This program exemplified the cross-pollination of visual and literary arts, bringing together diverse communities to celebrate culture, creativity, and the power of storytelling. The Museum’s powerful exhibition of Navigating the Waves: Contemporary Cuban Photography provided a visual backdrop, while ALMAAHH and Nuestra Palabra elevated the voices of U.S. Latino writers, blending histories and art forms to explore the complexity of Latinidad as seen through the creative minds of American Latino writers.

Special recognition to our elected officials and community leaders who attended and who champion Latino arts and culture:

ALMAAHH partnered with FotoFest to present a series of community-centered programs in conjunction with Flor Garduño: Paths of Life, an exhibition celebrating 45 years of Garduño’s influential photographic practice and its exploration of ritual, mythology, memory, and the connection between humanity and nature.

As part of Second Saturday Open Art Studios at Silver Street Studios, ALMAAHH and FotoFest hosted an interactive daytime program that invited the public to engage directly with the exhibition through hands-on artmaking. Visitors explored Garduño’s powerful imagery and participated in two artist-led workshops: Create Your Mythological Nahual, a collage workshop inspired by Garduño’s mystical symbolism led by Jatziri Barron, and Cyanotype Printing in the Sun, a sunlight-based photographic process led by Lizbeth Ortiz. The event fostered creativity, reflection, and community, as participants transformed personal narratives into visual expressions under the open sky.

In addition to the daytime workshops, ALMAAHH collaborated with FotoFest and the Ponce Project Music Foundation to present Mythos & Memory: A Journey Through Music and Spoken Word, an evening program held inside the exhibition. The event featured evocative performances by L’acalet Dúo (Benilde Larios and Benjamín González) and award-winning poet and playwright Jasminne Mendez, whose spoken word resonated deeply within the gallery space. A spontaneous exchange between the guest performers and Silver Street Studios resident artist Miller Quevedo emerged as a powerful moment of artistic dialogue, underscoring the exhibition’s ability to spark connection, collaboration, and shared reflection.

Together, these programs exemplified ALMAAHH’s commitment to expanding access to Latino arts, supporting artists through meaningful platforms, and creating spaces where visual art, performance, and community converge in dialogue and celebration.

Colors of Calm brought six artist-led, mindfulness-based workshops to middle and high school students, using creative practices such as collage, watercolor, mask-making, and puppetry to explore emotion, self-expression, and well-being. For many students, these workshops marked their first experience engaging with art in this way, offering a powerful and unfamiliar outlet for reflection and connection.

Educators observed meaningful shifts throughout the sessions, noting how art helped students access emotions, build confidence, and create safe spaces for expression. Across workshops, students found new ways to articulate their inner worlds, connect with one another, and experience calm through creativity. Many also expressed a desire for a dedicated Latino art and culture space where this kind of exploration could continue.

The Colors of Calm pilot underscored both the need and the opportunity for healing, art-centered experiences in schools. To extend the project’s impact, ALMAAHH made the Colors of Calm Workshop Booklet available as a free resource for educators, parents, and community facilitators. Designed by Houston-based teaching artists—Jatziri Barrón, Alenka Cardenas, Meredith Harrison, Claudia I. Macías, Vanessa Perez Ortega, and Melissa Rose Tylinski—the booklet offers accessible lessons that blend cultural identity, personal narrative, and mental wellness.

ALMAAHH is deeply grateful to The Texas Cultural Trust, whose support through the Texas Women’s for the Arts grant helped make this project and resource possible.