On Saturday, Sept. 16, the Naperville Sister Cities Commission held its third annual Hispanic Heritage Festival in Naperville’s Central Park.
Celebrating two of Naperville’s sister cities
The event celebrates two of Naperville’s sister cities: Cancun, and Patzcuaro, both in Mexico, while also honoring Hispanic heritage throughout the city of Naperville.
“We are here at the Naperville Central Park for our third. Yes, third annual Naperville Hispanic Festival. We decided to do a festival about three years ago, obviously, when we actually adopted a second Naperville sister city, and originally, we had passed Patzcuaro, Mexico and then we added Cancun, Mexico,” said Naperville Sister Cities Liaison Patty Gustin.
Food, fun and music at the Hispanic Heritage Festival
Though a newer event to the Naperville scene, organizers say they are pleased to see it grow, expanding the offerings a bit each year.
“We have some wonderful dancing groups all the way from five-year-old’s to 50-year-olds. We have some wonderful food that is here, some cultural food. We have some great vendors that are selling some goods and services made by Hispanic vendors and just a ton of great things for people to enjoy,” said Naperville Sister Cities Chairperson Lance Fuhrer.
Honoring Hispanic leaders in the community
Each year, the festival also celebrates Hispanic leaders within the community. This year’s honorees were Monica Arredondo, Carolina Zavala, and Maria Rodriguez DiGioia who received awards for their efforts in forwarding business, education, and culture in the Hispanic community.
DuPage Hispanic Alliance lends a hand
This time around the Sister Cities Commission partnered with a new non-profit organization, the DuPage Hispanic Alliance, formed earlier this year.
“This year, we are partnering with the DuPage Hispanic Alliance, and they have been a great partner for us. And they’re providing a lot of kids activities, and one of their members on our foundation as well, and it’s a great alliance and a great relationship which we are looking to strengthen upon in the years to come,” said Chairperson Shafeek Abubaker.
The alliance plans to partner with the Sister Cities Commission to plan other cultural events, including the Hispanic Heritage Festival.
“We’re a newly formed organization which was a founded organization four months ago, so we are brand new in DuPage County. As an immigrant, Panamanian, I am very proud of my culture, and we are doing this because we want to raise our kids to understand different cultures, and that’s a very positive message for our community about diversity, said Shaiska Malca, a DuPage Hispanic Alliance member.
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