Mariachi trumpets and folklórico dancers filled The Solana on Saturday as the West El Paso shopping center kicked off a free, two-day Hispanic Heritage Month celebration called Fiesta de la Cultura. The Saturday portion ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the mall, located at 750 Sunland Park Drive, and featured live performances, student showcases, art exhibitions, face painting, lotería, mexican candy bags and giveaways, with complimentary pan dulce available while supplies lasted.
The event, first reported by KFOX, continues Wednesday, September 16 — Mexican Independence Day — with a second celebration from 4 to 8 p.m. featuring live entertainment, music, cultural performances and family activities. Organizers designed the two days to showcase the traditions, talent and culture of the El Paso, Juárez and Las Cruces region, according to the station's report, reflecting The Solana's position along the Interstate 10 corridor near the Texas-New Mexico-Mexico border, where it serves a tri-state catchment area spanning El Paso, Southern New Mexico and Ciudad Juárez, per The Solana.
Wednesday's date is no accident. September 16 commemorates the Grito de Dolores, the call to arms issued by Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on September 16, 1810, launching Mexico's war of independence from Spain, according to the U.S. Department of State. The holiday is often confused with Cinco de Mayo, which instead marks a separate 1862 battle. The September 12 and September 16, 2026, festival dates do not both fall within National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is the federally designated observance running September 15 through October 15 under Public Law 100-402, signed by President Ronald Reagan on August 17, 1988.
Local Vendors Move Indoors for the Occasion
Free admission and free family activities are available at no cost across both days, per the same account from the station. The Saturday market portion features the Upper Valley Artist & Farmers Market, showcasing local vendors, makers and small businesses inside the mall rather than at its usual outdoor location. The market is joining Saturday's event as a special indoor market, moving its regular vendor lineup — which typically operates weekly at Mesa Plaza — into The Solana's air-conditioned space, according to a Upper Valley Artist & Farmers Market post.
The festival lands in a city where the celebration carries particular resonance. According to 2024 figures, 81.2% of El Paso's population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, a share that has held above 80% for more than a decade, making the city one of the largest Hispanic-majority municipalities in the country.
A Mall's Second Life as a Community Hub
The Solana wasn't always built for lotería nights and folklórico shows. The complex opened in 1988 and operated as Sunland Park Mall, a super-regional shopping center with anchor stores and a movie theater, as Hoodline detailed in its coverage of the mall's haunted house. In July 2023, local businessman Enoch Kimmelman, president and CEO of Starr Western Wear, acquired the property from Washington Prime Group and rebranded it as The Shoppes at Solana, according to BestAttractions. Kimmelman's family had run Starr Western Wear in El Paso for decades before the purchase.
Since the rebrand, The Solana has leaned into experiential attractions to replace vacant department-store space, adding Jungle Reef, an interactive attraction, per BestAttractions. The strategy has included local vendor pop-ups and new entertainment tenants.
A Local El Paso Celebration
The Solana's festival is a local September event in El Paso.
