Hispanic Heritage Month begins this Sunday, Sept. 15, and Athens’ 15th annual LatinxFest will kick things off on Saturday with a daylong celebration from 11 a.m.–8 p.m. taking place downtown on Washington Street between Pulaski and Lumpkin streets.
Organized as LatinoFest in 2010 by Dignidad Inmigrante en Athens in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Pinewoods, the festival has seen a lot of growth and change while maintaining its goal of recognizing the economic and cultural impacts of the local Latinx community on the greater Athens area.
Highlights of the festival include food, music and dance representative of different traditions and heritage under the Latinx umbrella, which covers numerous countries of origin. Featured performers this year include La Flor de Jalisco, Tepeyac, Los Potros del Norte, Los Consentidos de Michoacan, Aklla Sumaq, Tonalli, Danza Azteca, La Suegra, Along Time Ago Go, Los Hermanos Mendoza, Juancho, La Hora Urbana and Cuadro Armado. There will be art vendors, community resources and a children’s play area as well. From 12–5 p.m. different children’s activities will take place at the top of each hour, such as an obstacle course, a game of pista comando, bingo, color fest and a prize auction, then ending with a piñata.
Festival co-coordinator Audey Lee, who began working with the festival around 2017 in logistics and promotion, shares that an altar will be set up by organizers with photos of people within the community who have died over the last year. There will be a ceremony marking a moment of reflection for those lost. “We really cover all parts of the community, and both our joy and sorrow,” says Lee. Attendees are invited to add their own photos to the altar to honor lost loved ones.
The festival’s previous director, Beto Mendoza, moved to Elberton, where an extension of the LatinxFest is taking place. Lee explains that the Athens organizers have partnered with neighboring counties to promote similar LatinxFests in the past. The celebrations are always driven by members of their own communities, but there is a shared spirit of collaboration and support between cities. Now a familiar face has stepped into the role as the new director in Athens: Esther Carrillo.
“She’s been working doing the same things for the festival this whole time. So she just officially has that leadership role now,” says Lee. “She’s doing just as great of a job as she always has. We have a lot of new volunteers and a lot of, you know, just women-led spirit, I guess.”
Neighborhood leaders Aline Loza and Lizette Guevara are very connected and involved in the community and have been instrumental in the festival, says Lee, much like Mendoza was while living here. Many people behind the scenes of the festival are resource-connected, and it’s a driving force of the larger impact the festival has within the community. Their professional work overlaps with the festival’s mission to provide public resource information.
“So yes, there’s music and there’s dancing and food and all the great celebratory stuff. Then we also have people talking about what’s going on in the community and what’s happening in public health in our schools. So it all kind of brings it back around to what’s going on in the moment in the community,” says Lee.
As fall and football season collide, community festivals like LatinxFest often end up competing for city permits to take place on open weekends. Lee explains that although the festival date has moved around a lot, they are committed to keeping it on a Saturday to help patronage at surrounding downtown businesses. LatinxFest does not feature a beer tent, so attendees are encouraged to visit restaurants and bars in the area to drink on their patios while enjoying the activities.
The festival will have a kickoff celebration downtown that has yet to be announced at the time of press. The official announcement and more information can be found on the LatinxFest Facebook page at facebook.com/LatinxFestAth.
WHO: LatinxFest
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 14, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
WHERE: Downtown Athens
HOW MUCH: FREE!
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