Postcards from Fiesta DC
By hola | Published | No Comments
Check out our photos and story from last weekend’s festival!
Fiesta DC celebrated its 48th year this past weekend with its signature parade on Saturday and street festival on Sunday that brought out performers and community members from the more than two dozen countries represented locally in our extremely diverse Washington-area community.
I was intrigued by the community support for the different Latino nations represented at the parade on Saturday. I wanted to better understand why so many people continue to attend this festival year after year. As I talked to members of the crowd, what I heard is how attending this annual flowering of diverse Latino cultures gives people a joyful, exciting outlet to embrace their heritage and participate in Hispanic Heritage Month. This is especially true, people told me, since the chaos of life can sometimes stifle their ability to call upon their roots and express their love for their culture in such a dynamic and public way.
The first woman I approached was there with her boyfriend. Originally from Washington state, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., three years ago and have been attending Fiesta DC ever since. For this couple, the festival is a great way to stay connected with their roots and the places most of their family members still call home. They were particularly excited about the Mexican and Salvadoran performers, who represent the countries that their families come from. The festival is a great way to reconnect with your heritage, they said, and celebrate the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month, when sometimes other aspects of life intrude.
I also spoke with a Salvadoran family, who agreed with much of what the first couple had to say about the festival but their four year old son had his own ideas: For him, his favorite part was seeing the “horsies,” referring to the performers on horseback, who were among the most kid-friendly performances of the day.
—Story & photos by MacKenzie Curtin
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