Columbus kicks off Latino Heritage Month with parade, cultural events
Peter Gill
Latino Heritage Month kicks off this weekend, with Columbus' second annual parade taking place Downtown on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Various events to celebrate and share the diversity of Latino cultures will take place between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, including music and dance performances, a night market, an art show, a documentary screening and several public discussions regarding identity, place-making and policy issues, among other events. (See the list of events in the accompanying text box.)
The city's Latino Heritage Month Committee, founded last year by City Council member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, is helping organize many of the events. Latino Heritage Month, which is recognized nationally, begins part-way through the month so that it can coincide with the independence days of Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua.
On Tuesday evening, community members gathered at City Hall to honor two "padrinos" (godfathers) and two "madrinas" (godmothers) — community leaders who will be feted as special guests during Saturday's parade.
Speakers celebrated how far Columbus' Latino community has come over recent decades.
“When I was little, I remember, if we were somewhere and we heard someone speaking Spanish, we immediately went over and exchanged numbers" because Spanish-speakers were so uncommon then, said Barroso de Padilla, who is Cuban American. “The amount of Latinos in the state has tripled since the '80s, has doubled since the early 2000s. And that trajectory is only going to continue to grow.”
About 59,000 of Columbus' roughly 898,000 people were Hispanic in 2021, according to the Census Bureau.
Derek Amaya, one of the night's honorees, said he was happy to see the growth of Latino Heritage Month as an avenue for celebrating his culture.
“When I first moved here in 2001, the Latin community was really, really tiny. …The only thing that we had was the Latino Festival, and then as the community started growing, people have started to care more about exposing our culture to Columbus," said Amaya, a Honduran American who owns The Cave Bar & Lounge Downtown and is a musician who goes by the stage name DJ Cale.
Besides Amaya, council members presented sashes to the other padrino and madrinas: Henry Guzman, a former director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, who is of Puerto Rican heritage and has had several prominent roles in Columbus' and Cleveland's city governments; Sandra López, a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus who is originally from the Dominican Republic and sits on the board of several nonprofit groups dealing with women's and girls' issues; and Alma Rosa Diaz-Cruz, the founder of Alianza 614, a nonprofit working with Latino youth, who is originally from Mexico and serves a caseworker at Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS).
Rosa Rojas, a museum curator, is organizing "Celebrando – A Dialogue on Latinx and Hispanic Cultural Experiences" at the Ohio History Connection on Sunday, which will focus on identity, place-making, and the recognition of historical landmarks with Latino ties in Ohio.
“We are preserving our stories and, at the same time, pointing out that we are not one same country, heritage or culture. We are many, but we are joined by some things that are the same, or similar in our background,” said Rojas, who is Dominican American.
The following events will take place during Latino Heritage Month in Columbus. A full schedule is accessible at latinoheritagecbus.org; for some events, RSVP is recommended.
- El Mercadito Friday Night Street Fair: Stalls will feature Latino artists, small businesses and live music. World Peaces and Global Gallery Coffee Shop, 3535 N High St., Columbus. Friday, Sept. 15, 5 p.m.-8 p.m.
- Latino Heritage Month Parade: The city’s second annual celebration of Latino culture and community. Downtown Columbus, Saturday, Sept. 16, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Fiesta, Baile y Ritmo Latino: A free dance class on salsa, bachata and merengue, along with games for children, a food truck and other activities. Cesar Chavez College Preparatory School, 2400 Mock Road, Columbus. Saturday, Sept. 16 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
- Viaje a través de México (A Journey of Mexico through Music and Dance): A free Mexican folk dance performance with live music, featuring food vendors. Coffman Amphitheater, 5200 Emerald Pkwy., Dublin. Saturday, Sept. 16 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m.
- Celebrando – A Dialogue on Latinx and Hispanic Cultural Experiences: Dance, musical performances, arts and crafts activities, food, shopping and a panel discussion on place-making and identity. Ohio History Center 800 East 17th Ave., Columbus. Sunday, Sept. 17 10 a.m-4 p.m. (Panel discussion 2 p.m.-4 p.m.)
- Latin Music with Flautango: Concert featuring Latin music and tangos. Free, donations accepted. First English Lutheran Church, 1015 E Main St., Columbus. Sunday, Sept. 24 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
- "‘Which Way Home" documentary screening: Free documentary screening will be followed by an expert-led Q&A on the journeys and challenges faced by surging numbers of unaccompanied minors entering the U.S. Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E Broad St. Thursday, Sept. 28 6-8:30 p.m.
- Minority business certification event: The city of Columbus’ Office of Diversity and Inclusion will host an information session for minority-owned businesses to achieve city certification. Lower.com Stadium, 96 Columbus Crew Way, Columbus. Thursday, Oct. 5, 6 p.m.
- "El Futuro/The Future" art show: Featuring the work of local Latino artists. Wild Goose Creative,188 McDowell St., Columbus. Friday, Oct. 13 6-9 p.m.
Peter Gill covers immigration, new American communities and religion for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America at: bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
pgill@dispatch.com