Last Updated on October 2, 2024, 1:10 AM | Published: September 29, 2024
Oklahoma City (Free Press) — Thousands came together on Saturday in the Historic Capitol Hill district to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the Fiestas de las Americas festival and parade.
This year marks the 19th anniversary of Oklahoma City’s largest Hispanic cultural festival and parade, which celebrates the city’s diverse cultural heritage with music, traditional cuisine, artisan vendors, and lively entertainment.
“One in five residents of the entire city of Oklahoma City are Latino,” said Mayor David Holt from the main stage “This community is going to help write the future stories in this city and that’s why it’s so great that we all come together and we celebrate this history and culture.”
The festivities began with a vibrant parade featuring over 100 participants, including multiple school districts, local businesses, and non-profit organizations. This year’s festival theme, Selena “Como La Flor,” paid tribute to the late Selena Quintanilla, who is fondly remembered as the “Queen of Tejano music.”
Many parade participants embraced the theme, some even dressing up and performing songs by the late Mexican-American singer from their floats.
After the parade, the festivities continued with a Selena-themed lip sync and look-alike contest, parade awards, and a taco-eating competition. The family-friendly event also featured a kids’ zone with games, face-painting, and the ReadOKC book bus, which distributed free books to children.
Several local dance groups and bands took the main stage as the day progressed, ending the evening with folklore dances and lively musical performances.
Sam Wargin Grimaldo, a native of the Capitol Hill district, emphasizes the beauty of uniting the community and blending American and Latin American cultures in a celebration of diversity.
“To me, that’s the beauty of this – we all get to come together, people from all different backgrounds are enjoying the display of different cultural groups, community groups, and organizations,” Grimaldo said in an interview with Free Press. “And we get to get people that are leaders in our community to help put together this wonderful event.”
Suzeth Gallegos Parrilla, a frequent attendee of the event, expressed her pride in witnessing the cultural appreciation displayed at the festival each year during Hispanic Heritage Month.
“It’s an awesome event for the community and I love seeing the parades. It’s my favorite part,” said Parrilla. “The food is amazing and just being able to speak to different members in the community and all the businesses coming out here to support us during this really special month for the community is awesome.”
Brianna Garcia is a freelance journalist covering local politics and culture for Free Press. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma.