Austin's Mexican American Cultural Center reopens after renovations
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center reopened Saturday after three and a half years of work. The updated center adds galleries, classrooms, a teaching kitchen, green space and a shaded plaza.
The East Austin cultural center is open again with new spaces for local Chicano and Latino art, classes and public gatherings. Its Perez-Ramos Plaza overlooks downtown and the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, and the reopening included mariachi, ballet folklórico and danza azteca performances.
The $27 million Phase 2 renovation was funded through a 2018 city bond. The center opened in 2007 after decades of organizing by Austin's Latino community and UT Austin students, and its return gives residents another place to connect with Mexican American art, food, history and public life near Rainey Street.