Houston Dynamo FC today announced its activations to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month around the city for the next four weeks and at Shell Energy Stadium on Sept. 30, highlighting members of the local community, fans and players of Hispanic heritage.
Presented by Coushatta Casino Resort, the Dynamo will host Hispanic Heritage Night on Saturday, Sept. 30 when in-state rival FC Dallas comes to town, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. The first 5,000 fans to arrive at Shell Energy Stadium will receive a Luchador mask gate giveaway, while both teams will warm up in adidas-designed Hispanic Heritage Month tops. Dynamo mascot Diesel will also be celebrating with piñatas in Diesel’s Corner.
The Hispanic Heritage Pre-Match Party presented by Verizon will take place at HDFC’s new headquarters (413 Bastrop St, Houston, TX 77003) and Hold It Down Plaza before kickoff.
The final of this year’s Own Your Block Cascarita Tournament will be hosted at headquarters from 2-4 p.m. CT pregame. Since last month, teams of six, celebrating the six wards of Houston and the hexagon the Club wears proudly on its shirt every weekend, have been representing their blocks to compete for the title.
In conjunction with the tournament final, festivities in Hold It Down Plaza include a beer garden with live music from local group EZ Band, who will also perform at halftime. Additionally, fans will have the opportunity to participate in soccer ball art representing different countries, including Donkeemom and Kimberly Guel (Mexico), Vanessa Sanez (Venezuela), Sully Florian (El Salvador) and Danny Reyes (Puerto Rico), who will all be recognized pregame.
The Club partnered with local artist Carlos Hernandez of Burning Bones Press to design custom artwork and merchandise in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, including a t-shirt, scarf and patch. All pieces will be Featured Items of the Match and available at the team store beginning on Saturday, Sept. 30. Fans can keep an eye on the Club’s social media channels for a video feature where Hernandez brings viewers behind the design.
Multiple Hispanic organizations will be activating on the stadium concourse throughout the match, including:
- Central American Collective – building Central American cultural capital, empowering younger generations through historical knowledge and spotlighting social issues affecting the community through the power of our art, culture and people.
- Friends of El Salvador – mission to provide community support for underserved El Salvadoran adults and youth through assessments and programming for advocacy in education, capital improvement and wellness.
- Tercera Llamada – a diverse collective of artists and cultural agents committed to creating and performing plays, in addition to contributing to the training and education of the Latin community through various artistic disciplines.
The Dynamo have several players of Hispanic descent who will be featured throughout the month, including:
- Artur - Brazil
- Luís Caicedo - Colombia
- Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla - Panama
- Franco Escobar - Argentina
- Iván Franco - Paraguay
- Héctor Herrera - Mexico
- Micael - Brazil
- Nelson Quiñónes - Colombia
- Xavier Valdez - Dominican Republic
Fans can purchase tickets for Houston’s Hispanic Heritage Night match through this specific link to receive an exclusive Hispanic Heritage Month patch.
