He also said the city will move to narrow Washington and Jefferson boulevards downtown.Fort Wayne residents got a chance to not only sample Latino fare but also support one of the community’s true talents.
The first day of Fiesta Latino was Saturday at Headwaters Park near downtown. A portion of the gate receipts from the event will go to the Voices of Unity Youth Choir, which performed Saturday evening, followed by Alex Fachely and Orchestra Arabu.
Festival organizer Fernando Zapari said he hopes to draw 5,000 people to the event to help the choir. Not only is the vocal group one of the city’s premiere music groups, but Zapari said it also helped him out for a different fundraiser to help someone get a kidney transplant.
The Voices of Unity Youth Choir is working to raise $400,000 to attend the July World Choir Games in Shaoxing, China.
Having the choir attend and succeed at the event will be good for the entire community, Zapari said, noting that it has members from many races and symbolizes the unity he wants to see.
“Fort Wayne is going to be known all over the world,” he said.
The festival isn’t all about the choir, however. Attendees were able to enjoy chorizo and cold beer and relax to live music, and children could pass the time by dressing in full-body Velcro-style suits to jump and stick to a wall.
Maria Salazar, 19, attended to promote her dance group, Amaneceres de Mexico, which performed Saturday. She said she tries to attend every event Zapari organizes because they typically draw large Hispanic crowds.
“I get to see how many are out there,” she said.
Salazar said the festivals serve as a way for the Hispanic community to show its pride, noting sometimes language barriers prevent this at other events.
Some of the festival-goers Saturday afternoon did not speak English, and the music and announcements were in Spanish.
