CentroAmericanto Festival

CentroAmericanto Fest returns to the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, presented by Mauricio Callejas. This is the festival's 18th edition, and it keeps its usual two-night split: one night for Central American documentary film and one for live music.

Friday night is the film program. It opens with JERHY, a documentary about Costa Rican indigenous leader Jerhy Rivera, followed by Cachada, the opportunity, an award-winning Salvadoran film about the La Cachada theater troupe. Both run from 7 PM to 9 PM.

Saturday shifts to the music fest, also from 7 PM to 9 PM, with a lineup that pulls from across the region. The dance group Amor por Panamá brings the movement, followed by Nicaraguan singer-songwriter Ceci Ceci, Salvadoran guitarist Jaime 'Hulk' Varela, and Honduran singer-songwriter Gricelda Padilla. The night is rounded out by performances from host Mauricio Callejas' own trio.

The venue is the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB MACC), 600 River Street, Austin, TX 78701. 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 of the 2018 Facility Expansion Plan approved by City Council. Beyond the festival, the center offers free gallery access, educational arts classes and camps, and artist-run programs like the Caminos Teen Leadership Program and the Latino/a/e Artist Access Program (LAAP), and hosts annual community events including the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). Both nights of CentroAmericanto run from 7 PM to 9 PM.