On Saturday the Coalition of Latino Leaders, CLILA, will hold its 10th Latino Taste Festival in downtown Dalton.
There will be traditional authentic Latino food from different regions of Mexico and other countries like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and more. The festival will be at Burr Park at the corner of Hamilton and Crawford streets. About 100 food vendors and handcrafts are expected, plus many agencies.
Latino food vendors from the community will start serving at noon and they will continue until 6 p.m. while attendees can enjoy traditional music and dances performed by groups from different Latin American countries and regions.
There will be a dancing group representing Peru, an Andean music group, a violinist, singers from the Dominican Republic and Honduras, CLILA’s Youth and Adults Folk Dance groups, a mariachi group and a band, as well as other groups from Atlanta.
The festival is a result of a true community effort, with regular people — moms, grandmas, men and youth — cooking and showcasing delicious dishes from their hometown, and many passionate volunteers.
Dalton is a diverse city where a vibrant Latino population thrives and contributes in many aspects to the fabric of the city. Most Latinos in Dalton are from Mexico (about 85%), but there are many other countries represented, such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Uruguay. Even though we are all Latinos, we are very diverse from country to country. And even within each country, there are many different regions and traditions.
Food vendors will include Mexican plates, from the traditional tacos as well as pozole, a náhuatl word for hominy. It’s a traditional pre-Spaniards colonization soup or stew, and then there are the traditional tamales, enchiladas, mole.
From Venezuela there will be the traditional arepas, a flatbread made of ground maize dough or cooked flour served with various garnishments.
Pupusas will be sold at the festival, too, a traditional food from El Salvador, made from finely ground wheat or corn flour. Also, El Salvador will present an exotic dish made from yucca (a root).
Sponsors this year include the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Georgia United Credit Union, Kinetic, Shaw Industries, Roper Corp., Alliant, the Vazquez and Servi Immigration Law Firm and the Georgia Association for Primary Healthcare Inc.
Also we’re thankful to the Downtown Dalton Development Authority for allowing us to use downtown streets to showcase our food and music.
We recognize ourselves as living in a beautiful country and city that we love dearly, while at the same time we value our history and roots.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/share/3Zfw8AAVQ1f3weiK/.
Submitted by the Coalition of Latino Leaders.