On September 16, more than 5,000 people gathered to celebrate Latin culture for Hispanic Heritage Month at the CLUES Fiesta Latina. The event was presented by CLUES, Best Buy, M Health Fairview and General Mills with support from a variety of partners and more than 120 vendors.

From very early on, many people were hanging around waiting for the event to start. Thanks to Metro Transit, many were able to attend the event using public transportation for free. At noon, the great Latin Party began with live music and lots of joy. During the event, we had traditional Latin dance performances with Baila Venezuela and Rene Thompson;, story reading for children (Daniela and Mateo) and live music with Boriken Cultural Center and Chico Chávez Orchestra. Each performance was greeted with applause and many attendees joined in the dances.

Several local Latino artists held live workshops where attendees could learn from creating a sculpture with Zote soap with Cadex Herrera; make your own mosaic with Constanza Carballo; print a beautiful lithograph created by artist Lynda Grafito; create collage in blogs with León Currie; paint and draw about flora and fauna with Sonia Pereira; the little ones were able to paint their faces thanks to the artist Maria Linsday; and the renowned artist Kandace Creel-Falcón was talking with attendees about her new solo exhibition “Immigrant Roads” exhibited at the CLUES Latino Art Gallery.

For those who did not know about the work that CLUES does in the community, several of our employees had the opportunity to be on stage presenting CLUES programs such as: Arts and Promotion of Latino Culture, Community Health, Economic Empowerment, Small Business, Behavioral Health, Youth Programs and Employment Training. Each of these programs had a table where interested people could ask their questions and receive more detailed information about our services. In addition, the Canasta Familiar service was a great success, where more than 300 families were able to receive healthy food completely free of charge. Also thanks to the generosity of United Way and Medica, 900 backpacks full of school supplies were distributed. Other community organizations and vendors were offering resources to the attending community.

Additionally, this year as a novelty, attendees were able to purchase Fiesta Latina t-shirts. This is a limited edition created by artist Lynda Grafito and printed manually at CLUES. We still have some available, sales of the t-shirts will help support the programs that take place at CLUES. For more information check clues.org/pay.

On several occasions, CLUES employees were surprised by the number of people who came to thank them for the event. Phrases like: “Thank you for all the support you provide to the community”; “my family and I always come every year to enjoy this event that celebrates our Latino culture”; “Thank you for representing Latino culture and our traditions” and “Incredible event to kick off the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.”

Thank you again to everyone who attended, sponsored or volunteered at Fiesta Latina 2023 for your support and for making the party such a fantastic event. We couldn't have done it without you and we hope to see you again next year.

You can see more the pictures of the event here

You can watch the highlight video created by Telemundo Minnesota here