Colorful flags of Latin countries hung from the Bo Diddley Community Plaza’s stage, and the scent of empanadas frying in deep skillets of oil attracted hungry passers-by Saturday afternoon.
Salsa music blasting in the plaza echoed through the streets of downtown Gainesville and greeted about 2,000 locals at the ninth annual Downtown Latino Festival.
Organized by the Chamber of Hispanic Affairs, the festival has become a tradition in Gainesville’s Hispanic community.
“It’s the only festival of its kind that I know of in northern Florida,” said David Ruiz, the event’s director.
Ruiz explained that the festival always occurs during Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 until Oct. 15. He said the event is a way to showcase Gainesville’s Hispanic community.
“You don’t have to be Latino to enjoy yourself here,” he said. “We welcome everyone.”
Ruiz stressed that the festival seeks to display the diversity of cultures represented in the Latino community.
Each differnent Hispanic country’s society brings its own unique flavor to the community, he said.
UF’s Hispanic Student Association welcomed the crowd at the front of the plaza and offered face painting to children.
Inside the plaza, about 40 vendors set up booths on the sidewalks.
Local restaurants sold tamales, churros, guava pastries and other Hispanic delicacies. Merchants displayed colorful jewelry and trinkets.
Nonprofit and community groups handed out informational fliers. The Regional Minority AIDS program under the Alachua County Department of Health administered free HIV tests. Results were provided in as little 20 minutes.
A cross section of residents joined in the festivities.
Children, students and adults of all backgrounds picnicked on the lawn of the Bo Diddley plaza and browsed the vendors’ offerings.
“The food, the music and the culture are all so authentic,” said Humberto Barboza, a junior industrial and systems engineering major.
Originally from Venezuela, Barboza said the festival reminded him of home.
“This is what I’ve been missing,” he said, holding a freshly made empanada.
Nilsa Ramos danced on the plaza’s lawn.
A charm of the Puerto Rican flag hung from her neck and jingled as she turned in circles and swayed to the music.
Ramos has attended the festival every year since she moved to Gainesville from North Carolina in 2004.
She said the crowd grows each year, but the culture of the event remains the same.
“I wish we could get together like this not only once a year,” she said. “It’s nice for the community to come together as one.”
