This past Saturday Latino Memphis drew crowds of folks to their annual festival at Overton Park. This year they collaborated with Memphis in May to celebrate and feature Colombian culture. Hundreds gathered around the main stage throughout the day to watch some amazing performances–from the Colombian Folkloric Ballet of Houston (pictured above) to Futboleros (the Harlem Globetrotters of Soccer) to Afro-Columbian folk music.
Futboleros showing off some serious soccer skills
Apart from these lively and talented performances, the festival offered some amazing food and a salsa making contest!
Paletas from everyone’s fav place–La Michoacana on Summer Ave.
So many good smells coming from this grill
Still salivating over here
Another close-up so you can truly torture yourself
And some great local vendors like Shop Mucho who specialize in traditional and trendy Southwest and Mexican clothing, home decor, and gifts.
Check out their online store shopmucho.com
In the middle of the festival stood an interactive art installation entitled Barrier Free which spoke to the spirit of festival, which was cultural appreciation and inclusiveness. It was created by Yancy Villa-Calvo for Latino Memphis and meant to “explore and expand upon the controversial proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and on the idea that barriers divide families and communities through deportation, travel bans, mass incarceration, intolerance, and discrimination. Everyone is essential to our community, and separating us–physically, emotionally or in any other way–leaves us incomplete and fractured.”
Learn more and donate at BarrierFree.org
