SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Soaking up some of the last summer heat, dozens made their way through the fields of Sharon Park to get a taste of culture.
The inaugural Great Parks of Hamilton County Hispanic Heritage Festival featured a melting pot of food, organizations, and music to welcome, celebrate and get to know one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the region.
Between 2000 and 2018, Ohio’s Hispanic population doubled, now representing 3.9% of the population, according to the Ohio Department of Development.
In Sharonville, Laura Longo with Great Parks said she’s seen that increase firsthand as more and more Spanish-speaking guests have been visiting area parks over the last few years. Longo said she planned Sunday’s event to show them, they’re welcome.
“I would like to make connections with the Spanish-speaking community,” she said. “I’d also like to make connections with local organizations that have similar mindsets as us so I think it’s important to support each other.”
Longo set up the event to be bilingual, featuring volunteers who can speak English and Spanish, booking games entertainment accessible to all and inviting organizations dedicated to serving Hispanic families in the area.
“This is kind of a great way to engage our community,” she said.
Longo also planned the event with diversity in mind. While the Hispanic community shares a language, culture varies between those from the Caribbean, South America or Central America.
Dayton Salsa Project Performs
The first group to perform, the Dayton Salsa Project, highlighted the common ground among all Latin Americans, because Darrell Rosa, one of the founding band members, said that’s what salsa music is all about.
“It’s culture, salsa,” he said. “It’s bigger than one nation.”
Rosa said he moved to Dayton from Puerto Rico in search of a job, and once he found that, his next focus was finding a community. He started attending meetings with the Puerto Rican American and Caribbean Association.
“Through their meetings, I met other musicians and from the community, we basically came out,” he said.
Those musicians weren’t all Puerto Rican though.
“We have some members that are from Peru, Colombia,” Rosa said.
All of them grew up around salsa.
Rosa performs with Dayton Salsa Project
Rosa said they started playing together and soon after, began touring. He spent the weekend at two different Hispanic heritage festivals in southwest Ohio.
“It’s really culture it’s a way of reuniting with the rest of the people,” he said.
Rosa said every performance is about sharing their shared culture with a wider audience, giving his community more visibility. He said that’s why he supports and celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month as well.
“The Hispanic population is a growing population,” he said. “We’re in Ohio and we’re in Ohio to stay.”
