ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Juan Gonzalez hands out T-shirts at the Viva American Latino Festival announcement at the Lupita Restaurant. Jose Alvarez is behind him.
BY THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — Get ready to party — Latino style — on Lynn Common later this month.
Viva American Latino Festival, a first-of-its-kind celebration, promises to be three hours of entertainment that will include food, music and fun on Saturday, July 30. It’s free and open to all.
“We want everyone to know we are here,” said Jose Alvarez, an American Latino Committee Festival member and native of El Salvador. “It’s important because we have to let everyone know about our culture and share it with our neighbors.”
Hispanics comprise nearly a third of Lynn’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and their numbers are growing. Many Latino leaders say while minorities tend to stick together based on where they came from, the time has come to bring everyone together.
Michelle Guzman, one of the organizers, said the goal of the afternoon event is for Latinos to connect with the broader community and to be more active locally.
She said the idea for the afternoon celebration is to get everyone out of their comfort zone and make new friends with people of all kinds in the city.
“It’s about being open, even for some people who may feel uncomfortable,” she said. “But everyone loves music and food, so if you’re hungry come to the festival. Who doesn’t like chicken, black beans and rice? Our festival hopes to build a bridge.”
Juan Gonzalez, 39, a native of Guatemala and founder of the American Latino Committee, works as a salesman for a pharmaceutical company. He acknowledged that these are challenging times for immigrants given that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to build a wall on the border with Mexico and deport millions of illegal immigrants. As a result, he said, Latinos are supporting Hillary Clinton.
“Remember, in the last election President Obama had a substantial Latino vote,” he said. “I think Latinos will vote for Hillary Clinton, we have no other option.”
The festival, which runs from 3-6 p.m. on July 30, comes as the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce and the North Shore Latino Business Association will sponsor a forum titled “The Shift: The Explosive Growth of the Latino Market.”
The event is scheduled for Thursday, July 28 at the Porthole Restaurant on the Lynnway. The forum will feature Alberto Vasallo, CEO of El Mundo Boston, and Elvis Jocol Lara, the company’s digital media director.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].