SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Friday marks the beginning of the first-ever New England Latino Festival.
Springfield is showcasing its diversity within the Latin community for the next couple of days and it’s including so much food, music, and more.
The festival will run from Friday through Saturday at Riverfront Park in Springfield and there will be everything from mariachis from Mexico, to samba from Brazil, and Jibaro music and dance from Puerto Rico.
Up and down the walk at the park, there are booths and vendors with all different foods and sponsors of the event. We spoke with the President of the Festival, Raquel Maldonado-Garcia about why she sees this event as a way to celebrate all of the Latin communities together.
“The most exciting part I think is that we are being united,” says Maldonado-Garcia. “We can unite all of these Latino countries and get to know the culture.”
22News spoke with a volunteer during Saturday’s festivities on why this event is so important for the community. “It’s a good experience for the community because we can reunite black, white, and Asian, every nationality out there we can reunite we can get along,” said Juan Jose Garcia.
There will be multiple musical performances at the festival, all of which are free.
Heath Kalb is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2022. Follow Heath on X @HeathKalb and view his bio to see more of his work.
