Lorraine Schill with Big Top Productions paints Axel Lopez’s face at the third annual National Hispanic Hertitage Month Fiesta at Shields Park on Friday.
Jared Reedy | For The Tribune
A bounce house was one of many fun activities offered at the third annual National Hispanic Heritage Month Fiesta at Shield’s Park on Friday.
Jared Reedy | For The Tribune
Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck and Kona Ice were among the vendors present at the National Hispanic Heritiage Month Fiesta at Shield’s Park Friday afternoon.
Jared Reedy | For The Tribune
Information offered by Su Casa at the National Hispanic Heritiage Month Fiesta at Shield’s Park Friday afternoon.
Jared Reedy | For The Tribune
“Diversity really means becoming complete as human beings — all of us. We learn from each other. If you’re missing on that stage, we learn less. We all need to be on that stage.”
These words said by Juan Felipe Herrera, the 21st United States Poet Laureate, encapsulate the importance of a multicultural community and of the celebration of different heritages.
Last Friday evening, in partnership with Centra Credit Union, Seymour Parks and Recreation held their third annual National Hispanic Heritage Month (NHHM) Fiesta at Shield’s Park.
A bounce house, face-painting and a magic show to cap the night off were among the many fun activities attendees could enjoy.
Tracy Cole, Seymour’s parks and recreation program director, said the parks department likes to ensure there are events like Friday’s fiesta that appeal to everyone in the community, “making sure that there are events out there that are available for everyone to be involved in.”
NHHM, which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, was initially a week-long observation until President Ronald Reagan expanded it to cover a 30-day period in 1988.
Vendors and organizations present at the fiesta on Friday evening included El Azteca, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck, Helados Don Pedro, Kona Ice, Indiana Health Center and Su Casa.
Monica Gonzalez with Su Casa spoke on the non-profit organization’s mission and the services they provide.
“Most of the people who approach us at the office are immigrants or Latin American and they might have questions about insurance or health, or they might be expecting a baby, or they might need help finding a house,” Gonzalez said.
While Su Casa was founded in 1999 as a response to the increase of Latin American immigrants arriving to Columbus, Gonzalez said the organization provides services for everyone.
“Basically, what we do at Su Casa is help our community in general — we support everybody,” Gonzalez said. “Our mission is to be able to provide people with everything they need for a good living; to be healthy in general, not only physically, but mentally.”
Gonzalez said NHHM is especially meaningful to her because the first day (Sept. 15) coincides with Guatemala’s Independence Day.
“For me, this month is really important because it’s a big celebration in my country, so it means a lot that we can have these kind of activities here where I live,” Gonzalez said.
The month also coincides with independence anniversaries for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua (all occurring Sept. 15), as well as Mexico and Chile (Sept. 16 and 18, respectively).
Seymour citizens Francisco and Monica Garcia said they appreciate having Hispanic heritage because of how close they are to their family members.
“Hispanic culture is really about the gathering of families, big families,” Francisco said.
“Smashing everybody’s faces into cake,” Monica joked.
Francisco said he is thankful for NHHM because his kids were not born or raised in Mexico like he was.
“It’s nice for them to see their culture and other kids from that culture,” Francisco said.