Washington Latino Festival celebrates cultural diversity

Washington's Central Park was hopping with activities on Sunday, June 2, as the Latinos for Washington group sponsored the sixth annual Latino Festival.

Sonia Leyva, president and co-founder of Latinos for Washington, said it all began when the Summer Classic started six years ago. The group was asked to host a day of their own to celebrate their culture and create an opportunity to share it with the community.

Levya said she was very excited to get the call and see the Hispanic culture welcomed so freely in the community.

'It was lovely because I've been here since I was 3 years old, so it was nice after 20-plus years to be acknowledged,” she said. 'It's a great day to bring everybody together to share our town. We all have a deep love for our town and we all live here together, so why not interact and enjoy the day.”

Kids activities, a bouncy house, food and craft vendors rounded out the day as well as live entertainment. Leyva said she felt it was important to have a day to celebrate the Latino community because the festival acted as a way to educate the public on traditions.

'We all live in Washington, and so we all want to live in harmony with each other and sometimes it's the lack of knowledge that keeps people separated, so it's things like this that bring people together,” she said.

Karen Gorham, manager of Latinos for Washington, said she was glad to see so many people out and enjoying the festival because she feels the way to strengthen the community is by everyone working together.

'It's part of the whole big piece of the world that if people understand each other and other cultures and know that we're all here for the same things and want to raise our children and have good health services, we're going to have to live together and appreciate each other,” she said.