Magnolia Park Arts & Community

08/20/2026

🎙️ TUNE IN TOMORROW! 🎙️

We are incredibly excited to share that MPAC’s Dr. Desdamona “Desi” Rios and Dr. Jesus “Jesse” Esparza will be featured on Houston Matters with Houston Public Media! 💙💜

Their work with Magnolia Park Arts & Community and La Escuelita de Magnolia Park continues to bring greater visibility to the importance of preserving and teaching our Mexican American and Chicano history, culture, art, and stories.

📅 Tomorrow, THURSDAY MORNING August 20
⏰ 9:45 AM CST
🎧 Houston Matters | Houston Public Media

We are so proud to see the work happening right here in Magnolia Park reaching a wider audience. Our history matters. Our stories matter. And our young people deserve to know the history of the communities they come from.

Please tune in and help us celebrate Dr. Desi and Dr. Esparza! 🎉👏🏽

Go to the 16:24 mark to listen. 👂

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/shows/houston-matters/

Houston Public Media is a service of the University of Houston and supported with financial gifts from the community. Houston Public Media combines broadcast and digital assets to serve residents of Southeast Texas with trusted local news and entertainment, as well as national programming from NPR a...

08/08/2026

EVENT IS STILL ON!!!
Wear your rain boots!!!

08/08/2026

The decorations are going up. The final details are coming together. The Escuelita crew is BUSY. 😂🌵

All because tomorrow, we celebrate our students! 🎓

Three months of learning, culture, community, and so much love have led us here. We can’t wait to celebrate everything they’ve accomplished.

¡Nos vemos mañana! ✨

08/08/2026

✨🎓See y’all TOMORROW, familia!🎓✨

We’re ready to celebrate our Escuelita de Magnolia Park students and the incredible learning, growth, and comunidad we’ve shared this summer. SET THOSE ALARMS + MARK THOSE CALENDARS

📍La Escuelita de Colores (7515 Avenue J, Houston, TX 77012)
🗓️ Saturday, August 8th, 2026
⏰ Art Exhibition Opens at 5:30 pm 🎓 Graduation Ceremony Begins at 7:00 pm 🤍 Attire: Summer Neutrals — whites, creams, tans & breezy linens

Come ready to celebrate our students, our cultura, and another beautiful summer of Escuelita. ✨

08/07/2026

Y’all are NOT ready for what our La Escuelita de Magnolia Park students created! 🎨❤️

These young artists put their hearts, their stories, their culture, and their creativity onto these canvases, and they did a PHENOMENAL job.

And yes… these masterpieces will be up for auction! 👀🔥

So be sure to bring your cash or credit card because you may walk in just to support our students and walk out owning an original piece of art!

Best part? 100% of the proceeds from each artwork goes directly to the student artist.

Come celebrate their hard work, hear the stories behind their paintings, and show these kids that their art has value and their voices matter.

📅 Saturday, August 8
🎨 Art Exhibition begins at 5:30 PM
🎓 Graduation Ceremony begins at 7:00 PM
📍 La Casita de Colores
7515 Avenue J,
Houston, TX 77012

Come ready to BID! ❤️🎨

08/07/2026

Y’all are NOT ready for what our La Escuelita de Magnolia Park students created! 🎨❤️

These young artists put their hearts, their stories, their culture, and their creativity onto these canvases, and they did a PHENOMENAL job.

And yes… these masterpieces will be up for auction! 👀🔥

So be sure to bring your cash or credit card because you may walk in just to support our students and walk out owning an original piece of art!

Best part? 100% of the proceeds from each artwork goes directly to the student artist.

Come celebrate their hard work, hear the stories behind their paintings, and show these kids that their art has value and their voices matter.

📅 Saturday, August 8
🎨 Art Exhibition begins at 5:30 PM
🎓 Graduation Ceremony begins at 7:00 PM
📍 La Casita de Colores
7515 Avenue J,
Houston, TX 77012

Come ready to BID! ❤️🎨

08/05/2026

Today, Gina Hinojosa visited La Casita de Colores, home of Magnolia Park Arts & Community, to offer her condolences to Ronaldo Salgado, his wife Evelyn, and the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

She also wanted to hear directly from our Magnolia Park Arts & Community: La Escuelita de Magnolia Park students about how this tragedy has affected them. One student shared that their own parent was forced off the road while driving a work truck, detained, and taken away. Although their family’s story ended differently, the fear and trauma remain.

Thank you, Gina Hinojosa, for taking the time to listen, and thank you to Conchita Reyes for thinking of Magnolia Park Arts & Community and La Casita de Colores as a place where our community could come together, support one another, and begin to heal.

A special thank you to Jose “Guero” Valles for bringing his beautiful lowrider and allowing Gina Hinojosa to take a photo with it during her visit.

Art preserves more than beauty. It preserves memory, identity, and the stories a community refuses to lose.

08/05/2026

Well… our fearless leader Jesse broke the “WE ARE SOMEONE” sign. 🤦‍♂️😂

That’s what happens when you’re running on little sleep, juggling a hundred things, and making sure our Escuelita students are honored with the artistic exhibition they deserve.

Thankfully, we’ve had an incredible team of volunteers, friends, Board members and supporters helping us transform La Casita de Colores into something special. We couldn’t do this without all of you. 💜

Join us for the La Escuelita de Magnolia Park Student Art Exhibition & Graduation!

🎨 Saturday, August 8
🖼️ Art Exhibition: 5:30 PM
🎓 Graduation Ceremony: 7:00 PM

Come experience incredible artwork created by our students, hear the stories behind each painting, and celebrate a new generation of young artists and storytellers.

And don’t worry… we’re pretty sure Jesse will have the sign fixed before you get here! 😂🎨

08/02/2026

Tonight we had the privilege of attending the screening of Los Tejanos: A 500-Year History at the University of Houston-Downtown. It was a powerful reminder that the history of Tejanos, Mexican Americans, and the communities that helped shape Texas spans more than 500 years, yet so much of it is still absent from our textbooks.

This is exactly why Magnolia Park Arts & Community created La Escuelita de Magnolia Park. We believe our young people deserve to know the history of the people who came before them, the struggles they endured, the contributions they made, and the legacy they left behind. When students understand where they come from, they begin to understand the importance of where they are going.

History is more than dates and names. It is identity. It is memory. It is resilience. Through art, literature, and honest conversations, we strive to ensure these stories are not forgotten or rewritten.

Thank you to the Harris County Hispanic Cultural Heritage Commission, LEAP, the filmmakers, and everyone who made this community screening possible. These are the conversations that strengthen our communities and remind us why preserving our history matters.

At MPAC, we don’t just teach art. We preserve memory, identity, and the stories a community refuses to lose.