Immerse yourself in Hispanic Culture without leaving Indianapolis at the International Market

INDIANAPOLIS — Sept. 15 marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.

It’s celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

It’s a time to celebrate the influence, culture, and contributions of Hispanic Americans and you can do that right here in Indianapolis.

Inside the Global Village Welcome Center, the Latino Heritage Exhibit shows off the clothes, art and toys from 21 different countries.

“I was born in Mexico, raised in Los Angeles and then I moved here to Indianapolis when I was 13 years old,” said Daniel Del Real, the curator for this exhibit.

He’s worked to make sure 21 different Latin American countries are represented.

“We can say that every one of these countries, there's people in this neighborhood or in Indianapolis that are from those countries,” Del Real said.

Del Real is Mexican and said he appreciates seeing and learning more about things that come from his country but also things from neighboring countries as well.

“We get a lot of very different reactions when people see things from their country. For instance, in the past we had Venezuelan bills on display and one gentleman from Venezuela came in and he started to cry when he saw the bills,” Del Real said.

After visiting this exhibit, you can learn more about the food of the Hispanic culture by visiting Carniceria Guanajuato.

“We have food from all over we have a lot of customers from a lot of nationalities,” said Estephany Vasquez, a manager at the grocery store. She said they have food from at least half a dozen different countries.

“To me, it's important because that's what we eat at home so I want to find it here close to home where we can cook our dishes from our countries,” Vasquez said.

She invites anyone from any nationality to come, enjoy their food and ask questions if you have to.

“I just want everybody to, you know, come in and try everything that we have here we would to have them here,” Vasquez said.

The Latino Heritage Exhibit is up through the end of September but there are always cultures represented here at the welcome center.

There are more ways to learn about Hispanic Heritage this month.

On Sept. 17, the Global Village Welcome Center is hosting its Latino Heritage Festival.

The festival is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free to attend.

Closing out Hispanic Heritage Month the Global Village is also hosting the Latino Expo. The expo is from noon to 6 p.m. on Oct. 14-15. This event is also free to the public.

There are also several restaurants you can visit in the International Market like Antojitos Guzman, Chile y Limon and El Fogon Tortilleria.

You can see more places to eat by using the International Market Passport.