Fiesta Navideña
About Fiesta Navideña
Every December, the Mexican Heritage Plaza (La Plaza) shines with twinkling décor, an 18-foot Christmas tree, and community cheer. This year, the 15th annual Fiesta Navideña lights up the night on Saturday, December 13. The celebration features a free concert by Carlos y Charlos, whose passionate norteño and conjunto sounds will resonate through the Mayfair neighborhood for La Plaza’s final event of the year.
As the evening falls, families gather to enjoy festive activities for all ages, including an enchanting folklórico performance by longtime partners Los Lupeños de San José. Guests can participate in an interactive posada, celebrating a cherished Mexican tradition of hospitality while welcoming the holiday season, presented by Teatro Vision. The night will also feature an art workshop for all ages, local vendors offering handmade crafts and gifts, and the delicious aroma of steaming tamales.
“For many people from the local community, the Mexican Heritage Plaza serves as a second home, a place where they can celebrate traditions from Mexico and across Latin America. For years, Fiesta Navideña has brought generations together to honor culture, faith, and family. Attendees may have traveled here and left their motherland, but they carry traditions with them, and it’s our duty to be the place where they can come together and celebrate.”
Events Schedule
Event Categories
Video Introduction
Community Connections
School of Arts and Culture at MHP
The Mexican Heritage Plaza (MHP) is a uniquely designed cultural facility located in the Mayfair neighborhood of east San Jose, a predominantly Mexican American neighborhood since the mid-20th Century. The MHP was built by the City of San Jose in 1999 on the site of one of the first grocery store boycotts for farm workers’ rights organized by César Chavez in the 1960s. Guided by an extensive community planning process designed to re-imagine the future of the Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose, the School of Arts and Culture at MHP was created in 2011. The School envisions a world where creativity inspires compassion and vibrant communities. Our mission is to catalyze creativity and empower community. The School offers after-school and summer sessions in visual and performing arts, and it provides a multicultural and intercultural venue for community programs that embrace all cultures while exploring the artistic traditions, cultural history, and contemporary creative expression of Mexican arts. In addition, the School is the home of the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute, which is a leadership program for people of color engaged in the arts and cultural community.