The 2024 Latino Festival filled Logan Utah’s Center Street with music and dancing from different Latin American locations. Independence Day is in the middle of September for many Latin American countries, and Cache Valley Media Group wanted to pay tribute to all the cultures in the Cache Valley area.
Pablo Tellechea, an independent journalist for a radio station in Salt Lake City, assisted in directing this event and shared why this event is so important for the Latino community.
“This event will help to promote the culture, promote the food, dance, all the important things about culture in the Latino community,” Tellechea said.
Some of the vendors were programs like Latinos in Action.
Evelyn Porras and Jeff Brimhall represent Latinos in Action at Logan High School. Their program's motto is “family.” One of their main services is tutoring and as a club, they go to different elementary schools and tutor students who speak Spanish and Portuguese.
“People are coming with an open mind to learn more about those cultures, and we have been able to show them what the culture is all about," Porras said. "And we hope that more people will be part of it, and people that represent two or three different cultures be proud of who they are."
The Latinos in Action booth was selling tacos, aquas, and mangonadas. Club Vice President Preston Banner said the festival was the perfect place to promote what they do.
“Seeing each other as a familia, and not only that, but we're showing our community that we're here to work hard. We're here no matter what, and we're here to stand by your side,” Banner said.
A parade took place with dancing and an Ecuadorian racecar.
Arts Access, a program of Utah State University's Caine College of the Arts that provides art classes to children, had a booth at the festival. Bridger Thorne with Art Access stressed the connection between art and culture.
“I think one of the best ways that we can do a better job of sharing art with cultures is allowing people to make the art they want to make and sharing it with the world and with the community in whatever ways you can,” Thorne said.
