Saturday marks what organizers say is the first Latin Fest in the city of Canandaigua.
Attendees can expect local food vendors, dancing, cultural activities, and musical acts representing countries including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.
Julio Pabon, a resident of Rochester and one of the event’s organizers, said he hopes the festival shows Latinos in the area that they aren’t forgotten.
“We know that you are here, and we want to make sure that you are equally represented as we are,” Pabon said. “We're gonna do what we can to make you feel included, that you're not forgotten in the community.”
Canandaigua has more than 10,000 residents, including a small but growing Latino and Hispanic population that makes up roughly 8% of the city’s total population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Juan Guevara owns Rio Tomatlán, a Mexican restaurant in Canandaigua where the festival will take place. He has owned the restaurant for 20 years and said he’s noticed a change in the area’s Latino community.
“I did notice in the past 10 years specifically that different people started coming here from different you know areas: Equatoriano, Salvadoreño, Hondurano, from Costa Rica, which was definitely new to me,” Guevara said.
The Canandaigua Latin Fest starts at noon Saturday at Rio Tomatlán.
