The first-ever New England Latino Festival kicked off Friday afternoon with music and vendors at Springfield's Riverfront Park.
Steady rained kept most people under tarps, but organizer Juan Falcon said that should not stop people from coming out Friday and Saturday.
"I'm actually feeling elated, extremely happy for the weekend. It's raining a little bit. [But] we just move on and take care of business," he said.
State Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, grew up attending Puerto Rican parades and festivals. He said he welcomes a celebration of all Latino cultures in a city with a nearly 50% Latino population and many immigrants from central and south America as well as the Dominican Republic.
"I think the Hispanic American Library and also the the Puerto Rican Culture Center, is going to exhibit the unity within the Latino community, but also bringing a little bit more appetite towards understanding our African roots and the different types of latinidad that come with being Latino," he said.
Gomez recalled the many events he has attended with his father, Gumersindo Gomez, the executive director of the Massachusetts Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center and founder of the city's original Puerto Rican Parade and festival.
"And just to look at the fruition of now being so much more inclusive of not just being Puerto Rican. It's important for us to identify and start resonating with being Latino and not just from one ethnic group," he said.
Gumersindo Gomez came out to greet David Anthony Silva and Juan Falcon, the leaders of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and Hispanic American Library, respectively.
"I just wanted to show my support. We were the first Hispanic group to have a festival in this location and it brings me back to when we started back in 1989, '90, all those [years] ago. It's great to be back celebrating our heritage and having so many more Latino groups represented," Gumersindo Gomez said.
Bryan Alvarado, a business banking relationship manager for M & T Bank, a sponsor of the event, was ready to try some Peruvian food and listen to traditional folk music from musician Edwin Velez. Alvarado said it's part of the company's core values to engage with community members.
"We want to support every community that we serve, especially in the Springfield area being such a heavy Latino community," he said.
Alvarado said he hopes that participating in events in the community will provide an opening for conversations about financial literacy and education.
As Javier Rivas set up his display table for his startup catering business, Sabor de Perú, people approached and asked him about the fritters, stews and meat offerings.
"Oh, I have a lot of typical dishes. Here we have a Peruvian budín — it's a bread pudding made like in the mountains, a very traditional recipe," he said.
Falcon said the event is about highlighting the many Latino cultures in the region and giving startups like Rivas' an opportunity to thrive.
"It's about supporting each other, lifting and building each other up as Latino entrepreneurs, musicians and community members," he said.
The festival will continue Friday — rain or shine — until 7 p.m. and again Saturday from noon to 7 p.m.
