National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed nationally from Sept. 15 to Oct.15, celebrating and honoring the contributions and importance of Hispanics and Latinos to the United States and those whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

The Hispanic Heritage observance began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. It was enacted into law on Aug.17, 1988, with the approval of Public Law 100-402.

Sept. 15 is a significant date, because it is the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept.18, respectively.

Find more about Hispanic Heritage Month: https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/

Cuban-born pianist Nachito Herrera is returning to Kalamazoo to perform in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Herrera, who specializes in Cuban jazz, most recently played in Kalamazoo on the noontime jazz series at The Civic Theater during the 2014 Gilmore Piano Festival.

The free concert will be performed in-person in Bronson Park at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24. Please plan to bring a lawn chair or blanket, and to follow current state and local Covid-19 safety protocols. For more information, go to https://bit.ly/2XqOdlA.

It will also be livestreamed. Click here for a virtual ticket: https://bit.ly/3EpFiC1

Presented in partnership with El Concilio, The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, and Public Media Network, and sponsored by Havirmill Foundation with additional support from Eaton Corporation, The Marvin and Rosalie Okun Foundation, and PNC, this Gilmore Community Concert is available to everyone free of charge.

A second concert is planned at 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 25, at Leila Arboretum, presented in partnership with Battle Creek Latin American Heritage Initiative, Voces, and Leila Arboretum with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Kalamazoo native and 1954 Kalamazoo Central alumnus, Norman Haynes, once the director of Mars Exploration, Jet Propulsion Lab, is a pioneer in the remarkable history of NASA’s planetary exploration. Haynes will be the keynote speaker at the Air Zoo's Discovery Series for Adults at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23. Tickets are $20 members and $25 nonmembers in advance, $30 at the door.

When Mariner 4 launched in November 1964, accomplishing the first flyby of Mars under his direction, Norm Haynes was just five years into what would become a four-decade career leading various elements of interplanetary exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif.

Haynes became the director of Mars Exploration in 1996, a role he held until his retirement in 2000. Along the way, he received numerous honors and recognitions, culminating with the NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, the agency’s highest honor.

He will recount the hurdles, disappointments, and ingenuity that dotted the path to the triumphant successes of two groundbreaking mission — Mariner 4, which launched in 1964 and captured the first close-up images of another planet; and Voyager 2 in 1989, the first and only flyby mission to Neptune.

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