Mexican Cultural Center Hosts Party To Celebrate 'Día del Niño'

DENVER (CBS4) - The Mexican Cultural Center is hosting a month-long celebration of "Día del Niño: Celebrating All Children." Ericka Hernandez with the Center explains its a tradition that dates back to 1925 in Mexico but the goal is to celebrate children in all cultures.

"It's a celebration to recognize children and it pays respect to their importance in society," she told CBS News Colorado's Makenzie O'Keefe.

The center has teamed up with a number of cultural organizations around the metro area including the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Botanic Gardens.

That means venues will be offering Free Days as part of the SCFD calendar through throughout the month.

For instance, the Denver Art Museum has celebrated Día del Niño for 20 years. This year it is hosting a free day April 24 with bilingual activities, hands-on art-making and performances.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is hosting its ninth annual Día del Niño SCFD Community Free Day on May 1 but it has another special event planned with Anirudh Rao. At just ten years old, Rao will deliver a virtual event on anthropology April 18.

"The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is excited to continue our partnership with the Mexican Culture Center with these two special events for Día del Niño," Nancy Walsh, vice president of experiences & partnerships at the Museum said in a news release. "We cannot wait to celebrate special Day of the Child with our community!"

That's just a taste of the ways families can celebrate and learn together, all through the hard work of the Center and its partners.

"The mission of the Mexican Cultural Center is to be able to enhance the traditions that have within our culture," Hernandez said. "For us, to be able to part of the celebrations and recognize the importance of children and to make sure those traditions remain alive. It's crucial and we have the opportunity to do those through our cultural partners her in the metro area."

The Mexican Culture Center has the full list of events.