Festival Hispano to celebrate Mexico Aug. 10
El Centro Cultural invites the public to attend the 20th anniversary of Festival Hispano. This year, the community event will be held from noon to 6 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 10. The event is free for the whole family and conveniently located at the Millsboro Little League Complex at 262 W. State St. in Millsboro.
El Centro Cultural began the event 20 years ago to highlight local talent and expose area residents to traditional music and dances from Latin America. Festival Hispano is a day for everyone to experience music, dances, and food. Festival Hispano is a fabulous cultural celebration for the Hispanic immigrants who have come from many different countries to live and work in Sussex County.
Festival Hispano is made possible, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware.
Festival Hispano will celebrate all countries of Latin America with a special emphasis on Mexico this year. Citlali, a children’s dance group from Wilmington, will open the event at noon with a parade, a salute to Latin America and traditional dances. Mariachi King Kong from the Washington, D.C. area will perform at 1 p.m.
A special performance of pre-Hispanic Aztec dances will be presented by Azteca Cenzontle Cuicatl from Philadelphia, Pa., at 2 p.m. Another local dance group, Baile Folklorico de Frankford will perform folkloric dances from the state of Veracruz at 3:30 p.m. Finally, Mariachi Rey Azteca from Reading, Pa., will perform at 5 p.m.
Festival Hispano has a designated children’s area with a moon bounce, piñatas, activities, and information from social service agencies in Sussex County which target Hispanic families. There will be a contest of traditional clothes from Latin American countries at 3 p.m. in the children’s area. The contest is open to anyone who wants to participate, and there will be prizes for best youth outfit, best adult outfit and best couple outfit. Also, the food vendors will be offering everyone’s favorites: tacos, pupusas, and aguas frescas.
Festival Hispano is one of the activities sponsored by the local arts organization known as El Centro Cultural. Formed in 1995 to provide artistic, cultural and social programs, El Centro Cultural plays an important role in discovering and promoting local Hispanic artists, supporting local arts education, and coordinating local community events.
For more information, go to www.elcentrocultural.org, like on Facebook, www.facebook.com/festivalhispano, follow on Twitter @FestivalHispano or email festivalhispano@hotmail.com.
