Festival Latinoamericano Celebrates the Diversity of Arlington's Hispanic Community

The skies may have been gray at Arlington County’s annual Festival Latinoamericano, but the mood was anything but.

The festival took place on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and was attended by hundreds of enthusiastic community members, despite the chill and drizzly weather.

“So much community interest went into it,” said Dulce Carrillo, the county multicultural outreach and advocacy manager, and one of the festival’s primary organizers.

Festival Latinoamericano is held each year in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, and is coordinated largely by volunteers. This year, the festival included seven vendors, who served up traditional Hispanic foods, such as carne asada and plantains, or sold arts and crafts, such as jewelry and clothing. The event also featured several singers, dancers and instrumental musicians, who represented an array of Latin nations, including Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Bolivia.

“This festival is really marked by the opportunity to see the dance and hear the music from a variety of different countries,” said Chris Zimmerman, chairman of the Arlington County Board.

Zimmerman also noted that Arlington is unique because its Hispanic community has ties to many Spanish-speaking nations, whereas Latin communities in many other areas in the United States tend to be more geographically limited.

“It’s important to have the festival mainly to educate the people and make sure everybody knows that Arlington consists of a lot of people with different backgrounds,” said Juan Torres, a community member in attendance at the event.

Indeed, the festival contained a clear educational component. There were 16 information tables at the event, including one highlighting Tell Arlington’s Story, a county initiative dedicated to recording the diverse experiences of Arlingtonians. Also present were representatives from Edu-Futuro, an Arlington organization that coordinates leadership and education programming for local youth, adults and families in the Hispanic community.

“Latinos are part of Arlington,” said Eneida Alcalde, executive director of Edu-Futuro. “It’s important to highlight their contribution.”