WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.
In the midst of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Fiesta DC will be taking over Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 7th streets this weekend. It’s a two-day festival, this year saluting Nicaragua.
“Fiesta DC is a historic festival in Washington, D.C. since the late ’70s and the purpose of Fiesta is to showcase the culture and diversity of the Latino culture in Washington, D.C.,” said Jackie Reyes-Yanes, director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, who served six years as director of the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs.
Reyes-Yanes explained that the festival has its roots in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, organized by community activists who wanted to showcase the culture and music of their thriving community.
“It shows … the rich history of the Latino culture and its roots … when we started migrating here to the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. And now, the Latino community is in every single neighborhood of the city … now in every single neighborhood there is somebody that speaks Spanish,” said Reyes-Yanes.
The festival is free and offers authentic dishes, live music and folk dance performances. There’ll also be vendors selling handcrafted creations and a parade Sunday down Constitution Avenue featuring a display of the flags from 17 different countries.
“They are going to showcase Nicaragua, and they’re going to have a flavor of their food and also their beauty, their music,” she said.
The festivities will also include an attempt to cook a 20-foot-wide pupusa to celebrate Salvadoran culture and hopefully break a Guinness World Record. The pupusa, cooked at the intersection between Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues Northwest, will be made of cheese, pork and loroco, which is a flower bud harvested from a vining plant widespread in Central America and parts of Mexico.
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