Books y Baile

Books y Baile comes to the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on Saturday, August 8, from 4 PM to 9 PM. It's a free, family-friendly celebration of literacy, music, dance and community, put on by the Casa de la Cultura team as part of the center's summer cultural programming.

The afternoon starts with the kids. From 4 PM to 5 PM, AVANCE-Austin hosts Peque y Yo, a storytime session for the little ones. At the same time, the Art Studio offers free haircuts for kids from 4 PM to 6 PM, first come, first served. If you're bringing children, getting them in early is your best bet.

As the day turns toward evening, the focus shifts to music and dance. From 5 PM to 6 PM, Los Fandangueros de Austin lead a fandango, a traditional Mexican folk music and dance gathering. That's followed by a short, interactive cumbia lesson with Cumbia Para Todos from 6 PM to 6:15 PM, so you can get your footing before the main event: Cumbia Bajo la Luna, which runs from 6:15 PM until 9 PM. It's a long stretch of cumbia that takes the night from a lesson into a full dance.

All of this happens at the ESB MACC, located at 600 River St. in downtown Austin. The center is dedicated to the preservation, creation, presentation and promotion of the cultural arts of Mexican Americans and Latino cultures. It reopened to the public on June 6, 2026, following a Phase 2 expansion and renovation under a 2018 Facility Expansion Plan approved by City Council. That reopening, called Juntos de Nuevo, was a free, family-friendly day of reconnection, celebration and cultural expression. Beyond the summer program, the center runs gallery exhibits, cultural arts classes and camps for adults and youth, the Caminos teen leadership program and the Latino/a/e Artist Access Program (LAAP), which gives local artists space to show their work. Books y Baile is free, and the whole thing runs from 4 PM to 9 PM.