The Hispanic Heritage Festival is returning to Macon for the fifth year in a row.
Maribel Medina and Reyna Alcantar have been best friends since they were 12 years old.
“And now that we see how much the Hispanic population has grown, it’s become like really heartwarming,” Alcantar said.
The two are also each other’s biggest cheerleaders, supporting one another as they’ve started their own businesses in Central Georgia. Now, they’re bringing those businesses to the Hispanic Heritage Festival for the first time.
Medina owns a Mexican restaurant and food store, and she’ll bring her food truck to the event to offer tacos, burritos and fresh drinks to attendees.
Alcantar is a big fan of the food Medina serves.
“On Sundays they do like menudo, pozole, things like that that you don’t really find in all of the Mexican restaurants,” Alcantar said.
Alcantar will also have a booth for her insurance company, where she dresses up with the goal of empowering women.
“I dress like a superhero all in pinky glory. I have a doll… the doll is made in indigenous communities in Mexico by women,” Alcantar said.
Edna Adams is a member of the festival’s planning committee, and she’s encouraging everyone to attend.
“This is a great opportunity to kind of bridge that gap between all of our different communities and learn a little bit more about the Hispanic culture, you know, buy from our vendors, eat some of the food, and just, you know, hang out, dance,” Adams said.
Upholding Mexican culture is a big goal for Medina. Her restaurant is located on Houston Road, a quiet area with many mobile homes.
“They can get fresh fruits and vegetables that’s close to them within walking distance because of course with a lot of the Hispanic community members driving can be an issue so being able to walk and get fresh fruits and vegetables is a big deal as well as home cooked food,” Alcantar said.
Medina is looking forward to bringing her food to the festival this year.
The Hispanic Heritage Festival will be held Oct. 24 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Cherry Street Plaza.
Potential volunteers and vendors can visit this website for more details.
