Columbus Day / Indigenous People Day Weekend is the long weekend on the second Monday in October.
Columbus (Italian, 1451-1506) changed the world, but was an evil man. He lied about “discovering” the Americas in order to claim the reward for it. He was particularly brutal with Indigenous people. Even his Spanish sponsors called him back, stripped his titles, jailed him and put Columbus on trial for what he did to the people of the Americas.
The colonization that followed was a story of colonial genocide and human enslavement that still hurts. It’s also the source of much of the trouble in America today.
Columbus Day is “Italian American Day” in the United States
Columbus Day in the United States was created to stop violence against Italian Americans who were getting lynched in the American South because they lived, loved and worked with African Americans.
The celebration was the tipping point that changed Italian Americans from an “other” to just Americans. That’s why our Italian community holds this Italian American symbol so dearly.
It’s clearly time for more change. There are many honorable Italians who could be celebrated. We like Galileo (1564-1642), the Italian who is variously called the father of astronomy, physics, the scientific method and modern science.
Galileo is the father of modernity itself, the idea that decisions should be made after evaluating all the available information, and when the information changes, the decision must be reevaluated too.
Many regions celebrate Indigenous People Day or Día de los Raices which doesn’t mean “Day of the Races,” it means “Day of the Roots.”
The change has to come from our Italian communities and U.S. Congress whose law made the national holiday. It’s another reason to register to vote and then do it (vote.org).
Please don’t give our Italian community a hard time. We all stand together against racial violence. We hope that change is coming. Together we can make a better America.
The 2020 Columbus Day Parade goes Virtual!
Monday, October 12, 2020 🇮🇹
Celebrate Indigenous People Day!
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Redhawk Indigenous People Day Pow Wow
Sun-Mon, Oct 13-14, 2019 RANDALLS ISLAND ~ The Redhawk Native American Arts Council’s annual Indigenous People Day pow wow celebration in front of Icahn Stadium in Randall’s Island Park
Hispanic Day Parade 2019
Sunday, October 13, 2019 MIDTOWN, NYC ~ Twenty-one countries from around the world celebrate our Hispanic Heritage on Fifth Avenue
Some Events Are Cancelled This Year Because of COVID-19
These are some of the usual events that will have to wait until things improve. We hope they’ll return next year.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
September 15 – October 15 🇪🇸 🇺🇸
Celebrate Mexico Now Festival 2019
Mon-Sun, October 7-13, 2019 NEW YORK CITY ~ A festival of contemporary Mexican art, dance, film, literature, music and food curated by New York City’s leading producer of world-class Mexican culture
Fall for Dance Festival 2019
October 1-13, 2019 MIDTOWN, NYC ~ Four world-class companies / choreographers / dancers a night for just $15 is the best deal in dance at New York City Center
New York Film Festival 2019
September 27 – Oct 13, 2019 LINCOLN CENTER ~ The 57th Festival opens with Scorcese’s ‘The Irishman’ and screens Cannes Grand Prix winner ‘Atlantic,’ Pedro Almodóvar’s Spanish film ‘Pain and Glory,’ and Olivier Assayas’ French film ‘WASP Network’ at Film at Lincoln Center
NYC Ballet Fall 2019 Season
September 17 – Oct 13, 2019 LINCOLN CENTER ~ New leadership, Lovette and Liang premieres, a centennial tribute to modern dance legend Merce Cunningham, and Brazilian Soloist Jovani Furlan at the David H. Koch Theater