The Houston Texans will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of special events, highlighted by the annual Hispanic Heritage Day game presented by XFINITY on Sunday, Sept. 28 vs. the Buffalo Bills at noon CT at NRG Stadium. The Houston Texans Cheerleaders will have a special Hispanic Heritage Day performance at halftime. XFINITY will provide each fan in attendance with a Houston Texans roller banner to be used in a stadium-wide chant prior to kickoff.
Jose Cruz, former Houston Astros outfielder, will lead the Texans out of the tunnel prior to team introductions as the Home Field Advantage Captain. As fans enter the stadium, they will be greeted by Mariachi Esperanza and México En Danzas Grupo Folclórico. Members of the Texans Hispanic Fan Club, Toros Bravos presented by Verizon, will hold the Texas flag during pregame festivities. Octavio Moreno, from the Houston Grand Opera, will perform the national anthem.
During halftime, The Texans will recognize Alex López Negrete, President and CEO of Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc., as the recipient of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award presented by Verizon. Negrete runs one of the nation's largest Hispanic-owned independent advertising agencies and one of the most influential multicultural marketing agencies in the country with over 200 employees with offices in Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Mexico City. The Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award recognizes the contributions of Hispanic leaders in each NFL market. Each award recipient will receive a $2,000 donation for the non-profit organization of their choice.
Fans can hear the game broadcast every week in Spanish on ESPN Deportes Houston 1180 AM in Houston, featuring play-by-play voice Enrique Vasquez, color commentator Gustavo Rangel and sideline reporter Daniela Rodriguez. The Houston Texans also have a weekly preview/recap show that airs each Saturday during the season from 10:15-10:30 p.m. on Telemundo TV called Primero y Diez.
The team commemorated Hispanic Heritage Month with community appearances on Tuesday, Sept. 23 when Texans LB Jeff Tarpinian and Houston Texans Cheerleaders held a PLAY 60 event highlighting the importance of getting 60 minutes of play a day to reverse the trend of childhood obesity at the Neighborhood Centers Inc. Baker-Ripley Promise Community School, a state chartered open enrollment school home to 21 different languages focused on stronger families and healthier communities. Additionally, members of Toros Bravos presented by Verizon, the official Hispanic Fan Club of the Houston Texans and G Xavier Su'a-Filo held a volunteer event at the Houston Food Bank Tuesday evening to assist hungry families in Houston.
