Life

Celebrating Hispanic Culture at Gainesville’s Latino Fest

Ozong Agborsangaya, Staff Editor • October 3, 2024

Gainesville’s Latino fest brought together citizens to celebrate the rich Hispanic culture.

The Hispanic culture is deeply ingrained with Gainesville and the surrounding Hall County area. On Sept. 28, the community came together to celebrate this culture that has grown to be a part of the fabric that makes Hall County what it is.

According to a 2022 U.S. census, over 60,000 Hispanic residents call Hall County home. The festival was a celebration of Latino culture, art, music and food.

The 6th iteration of this event took place at the Midland Greenway for the first time in Gainesville from 3 – 9 p.m.

Hispanic Alliance GA, the organizers of the event, reported that 7,000 people came to the festival.

The community was on full display as local small businesses set up tents selling artwork and clothing.

A popular item at the Latino fest was the pupusa, a dish native to El Salvador, from Gainesville restaurant El Sabor de Oriente. Photo by Ozong Agborsangaya

Local restaurants such as El Sombrero and El Sabor de Oriente saw major traffic towards their tents. The vendors served food from Mexico, such as tortas and tamales, as well as food like pupusas from El Salvador.

Amongst other festivities, the centerpiece of the Latino fest were the live music performances from groups such as ETER4 on the concert stage at the Midland Greenway. Photo by Ozong Agborsangaya

While eating food and supporting local business, attendees were treated to the musical talents of various Hispanic performers and bands, such as Atlanta-based Latin rock group ETER4 at the new Midland Greenway concert stage.

Christian Garcia, an attendee of the festival, was elated to see how many people came out to the community event.

“I’m proud to be Hispanic, and a day like today where that culture is on full display for everyone to be a part of is just pretty cool.” – Christian Garcia, Gainesville Latino fest attendee

While embracing Hispanic culture and community were at the forefront of the event, making an impact on local Hispanic youth was just as important.

HAGA was founded by Vanesa Sarazura in 2016. The organization’s mission includes the improvement of quality of life as well as providing various opportunities for the Hispanic community through initiatives in education, health, financial stability and immigration.

Through the Latino festival, HAGA takes proceeds to fund scholarships through the organization’s “Fund the Dream Scholarship Fund.” The initiative aims to give scholarships to low-income minority students that are graduating to mitigate financial burden or falling off the academic track.

Last year four students were awarded scholarships of $1,500, three for the University of North Georgia and one for Oglethorpe University.

If you feel inclined to donate, you can do so here.

Donate to Vanguard

Your donation will support the student journalists of University of North Georgia. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.