Juntos de Nuevo, Spanish for "Together Again," is a fitting name for the reopening of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on Saturday. The center will welcome the public back for the first time in nearly three years with a day full of performances, workshops, exhibits, and tours.

The celebration runs from 11 am to 9 pm at the center, tucked between Lady Bird Lake and the high-rises of the Rainey Street district at 600 River St. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and welcome remarks from Austin City Council Member José Velásquez will kick off the festivities at 11 am.

The reopening marks the completion of Phase 2 improvements to the cultural center, which closed in early 2023 for construction. The project adds music rehearsal rooms, a teaching kitchen, upgraded classrooms and galleries, renovated offices, and a redesigned Zócalo Plaza featuring a dramatic shade structure intended to support year-round outdoor programming.

For many long-time Austinites, however, the reopening represents more than the unveiling of a renovated building. It marks the return of a community gathering place that has served as a hub for Mexican American and Latino arts, education, and cultural programming for nearly two decades.

The center's history stretches back more than 70 years. Community advocates spent years fighting to create a permanent home for Mexican American arts and culture. After a 1992 bond proposal failed, the city preserved the six-acre site along Lady Bird Lake and eventually secured voter approval for funding in 1998. The Mexican American Cultural Center opened in 2007 as the first phase of a larger master plan, according to the Austin Chronicle, and was renamed in honor of Emma S. Barrientos in 2011.

Barrientos, the late wife of former Texas State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, spent decades championing arts, education, and cultural programs in Austin and helped lead efforts to create a permanent home for Mexican American arts and culture in the city.

The push for a permanent cultural center grew out of a broader Chicano movement in Austin that sought greater political, educational, and cultural representation. Before the MACC existed, Juárez-Lincoln University operated in a converted church near East First Street and Interstate 35, serving as a bilingual, community-focused university rooted in that movement, according to a 2023 report by KUT.

The campus was eventually demolished, and the land was sold. The site, rumored to be under consideration for redevelopment, is now occupied by an IHOP. Today, the MACC stands as one of the most visible legacies of those efforts.

The reopening celebration is designed to introduce visitors to the expanded campus while highlighting the center's mission through music, dance, art, food, and community programming.

Visitors can expect:

• Guided tours from noon to 2 pm offering a first look at the renovated facility, including all the spaces listed above.
• Live entertainment throughout the day featuring performers including Mariachi Suroeste, Ballet Folklórico de Austin, Los Fandangueros de Austin, Danza Azteca Guadalupana, Los Sabrosos de la Cumbia, and other local artists.
• Hands-on workshops and family activities ranging from jarana and Zapateado instruction to cumbia lessons, visual arts projects, culinary demonstrations, storytime, karaoke, and youth programming.
• Three exhibitions including Loteriafest by Austin artist Courtney Enriquez, Mitote: Selections from the Gilberto Cardenas & Dolores Carillo Garcia Collection, and an exhibition tracing the history of the MACC from the Chicano Movement to today.
• An artisan market and community resource fair featuring local Latino artists, makers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and cultural organizations.
• Food and drink vendors throughout the campus including Mike's Texas Tacos, El Mana, Dulce Frida, Desnudo Coffee, Please Stay Coffee, Dobie Dough Bakery, Mom & Pops All Natural Pops, and Aguas del Mundo.

The timing is especially notable because the reopening coincides with the return of neighboring Confluence Park as part of the Waterloo Greenway project, creating a renewed cultural and recreational destination on the eastern edge of downtown.