Mariachi Sirenas, an all-female mariachi band from Chicago, opened the Latin Festival in Washington’s Central Park on Saturday, September 25, 2021.
A wide range of colorful merchandise was displayed in Central Park during the Latin Festival on Saturday, September 25, 2021.
Ileana Nieves (center) and her sons Elijah Velazquez (left) and Efraim Vasquez enjoy the music during the Latin Festival in Washington’s Central Park on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021.
WASHINGTON — The eighth annual Latin Festival returns to Washington Square on Saturday. While the event has previously been held during Hispanic Heritage Month from mid-September to October, organizers say they’ve moved up the schedule this year.
Latinos for Washington president and co-founder Sonia Leyva said the local group didn’t want to compete with the schedules of other festivals in the state.
“Last weekend we had our festival the same weekend as the Des Moines Latino Festival, so it was a little difficult to get some of the performers we wanted,” he said. “It’s hard when you’re a small town competing with the capital … so we just wanted a different time, but also close enough to Hispanic Heritage Month.”
The festivities will also last later than in years past. Leyva said vendors would be set up at 11 a.m. Saturday, but the opening ceremony won’t come until 1:30 p.m. After that, the festivities will continue into the night, ending at 10:00 p.m.
“We’re just trying to figure out the time frame and when people can come,” he said. “There are people working on Saturday, a lot of people weren’t able to come until later in the evening … we’re making it a little bit longer so people can come and enjoy themselves.”
This year’s event features a variety of programming, including Lluita Libre, music, dancing, bounce houses and, for the first time since the pandemic began, piñatas.
“We just want it to be a great cultural experience for everyone,” Leyva said. “It’s a great opportunity to share our culture, not only with non-Latinos, but also for the young Latinos in the community, because many don’t often return to their countries of origin. It’s nice to have a place where you can come and feel like you’re coming home.”
Leyva said she was excited.
“It’s going to be fun,” he said. “I’m really excited. When you plan something for so many months, you just want it to happen and be here, and enjoy the performers, enjoy the company, enjoy the food. “
For many, the festival represents a different way to be part of the community.
“My kids have never been to Mexico, so it feels great to be able to share this with my kids, but also with my community,” Leyva said. “You can’t explain certain things to them, but when they see it and experience it, then they understand a little more about who you are, where you come from … it’s so important to me that everyone has the opportunity to be. seen, to be visible, to feel that they belong.”
Those kinds of opportunities are especially rare in Iowa, a state that is 90.1 percent white, according to the most recent census estimates.
“We don’t get it all the time,” Leyva said. “We can’t go to a dance to listen to music…big cities have markets where you can go and feel like you’re in Mexico, but we don’t have that here. It feels much more special.”
The festival requires extensive planning, and Leyva said she was grateful to the donors who made it possible.
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