COLUMBIA — More than 100 people gathered Saturday at the Open Door Church to celebrate Columbia’s first Hispanic Heritage Festival.
Aleida Hernandez said she celebrates her culture every day, but the fellowship at the festival was special and made her feel at home.
“We came out to celebrate our culture with the community, and we’re super excited about a first Hispanic heritage culture (festival) here,” Hernandez said. “From food to music, the mariachi band, (it) was amazing.”
Columbia has been Hernandez’s home for three years, and this is her first heritage festival.
“It’s just been very welcoming and loving,” Hernandez said. “We felt at home immediately, and the warmth and that feel of community love, there’s nothing like it.”
The mariachi band’s song “Si Quieres” meaning “if you want, I will be with you all of my life for all of my days,” was important to her.
“Songs bring out this fire in you that’s … I just can’t explain it, it’s very moving,” Hernandez said. “It brought me to tears. It takes me back to being a child and being with my aunts and my uncles and my grandparents and being around the table.”
Mariachi Flor de Missouri lead vocalist Rachael Bishko said the songs allow people to bond and feel closer.
“These are very familiar songs … they do bring a great deal of warmth to these events and also, it warms people’s hearts to remember back when they were little these songs (that) were being played during that time,” Bishko said.
Bishko said the mariachi tradition is handed down from generation to generation. She said good memories are evoked through the songs.
“From all these things, it’s really important to have the music there and to be able to connect with people over the music,” Bishko said. “It binds them all together, and so that brings us a nice kind of connection that we wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Alex Carranza, who has lived in Columbia since he was 6, appreciated Saturday’s festival for bringing all community members together. He also said he’s glad he doesn’t have to travel to St. Louis or Kansas City anymore for a heritage celebration.
“We’ve never had this kind of festival or gathering of our community, and I remember being 6 and being one of four Latino kids in my class and to be able to come here and see so many people who look like me, talk like me, and have experienced the same thing, it’s really cool,” Carranza said.
Parents brought their kids out to teach, celebrate and enjoy the mix of different Hispanic heritages. One mother, Rebecca Roberts, said she wanted her kids to have more representation.
“I wanted my kids to see more of the Hispanic culture even though we’re Mexican, but there’s much more than just Mexican people out here,” Roberts said. “They don’t have that many Hispanic kids in their class, so when they meet other Hispanic kids, it’s an instant click.”
Roberts said while other attendees may be from different countries, such as Honduras or El Salvador, they share common experiences like their language and lifestyle.
