Grupo Arcoiris of RI will be among the many groups to perform on Sept. 21 at the Festival Latino.
The second annual Festival Latino will take place Sept. 21, from noon to 6 p.m., on the Great Friends Meeting House lawn.
Hosted by Conexión Latina Newport, residents of all backgrounds, origins and ages are invited to join the city’s diverse Hispanic community in a celebration featuring dancing, cultural exchange, traditional attire and lots of good food.
“It is a really fantastic opportunity for everybody to get to know their neighbors and really learn how the residents of our community and our city celebrate family, how they enjoy [life] and want to share it with the rest of the city, and have this be a really community oriented event so everybody is able to enjoy the day together,” said Conexión Latina executive director Rebeka Gomez.
Even though last year’s Bolivian, Dominican and Mexican dance performances had to be moved inside due to inclement weather, the inaugural festival was a successful and vibrant celebration of Latino culture on Aquidneck Island.
“Hopefully, we’re going to have excellent weather this year,” said Yolanda Macias, Conexión Latina co-founder. “There will be a lot of food trucks and the majority is going to be Latin food.”
A fleet of food trucks will be cooking up all different types of Hispanic cuisine, with last year’s offerings including a lobster and taco truck, a Puerto Rican truck, and a Bolivian operation.
Macias, who was born in Mexico and works part time at St. Joseph’s Church on Broadway as secretary to the church’s Spanish-speaking community, said the festival is Conexión Latina Newport’s biggest event of the year. She called it an opportunity for the Hispanic community on the island to have a sense of belonging, civic involvement and leadership, as well as an opportunity for all residents to come together and celebrate cultural values, such as community, hard work, sacrifice and dedication.
“Everybody is welcome,” she said. “Please come and experience the culture, and the dancers, and the flavors, and the customs. It is going to be a really nice day to learn about another culture.”
The festival will feature live music and DJs, folklorico dancers, including a Flamenco dancer, local vendors, a variety of Latin food, dancing and learning spaces for children and adults of all ages. There will be a parade with children wearing traditional cultural attire, and for the first time, there will be an educational stage featuring a variety of cultural programming.
“For me, the Bolivian dance troupe is going to be the most spectacular, because they have really fancy costumes,” said Macias.
The festival is free, but donations are accepted to help keep the festival and other community building opportunities thriving. Donations can be made on Conexión Latina’s website and at their office at 170 Broadway.