La Fiesta del Pueblo lights up downtown Raleigh with vibrant Hispanic Heritage celebration

Across the country, celebrations are underway to recognize the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

In North Carolina, the Hispanic and Latino population now makes up 11.4% of the state's residents, up from 10.7% in 2020.

At the La Fiesta de Pueblo celebration in Raleigh, attendees enjoyed music, dancing, art, and traditional cuisine.

Trifonia Suryana, a Bolivian immigrant, shared her excitement about the event: "To show where we are coming from and to show my culture, my traditions, and tell the world we are here."

On this breezy day, flags from various countries flutter energetically, symbolizing the passionate and diverse communities in NC.

"it’s important more than ever just to be accepting of people and just understand where everyone comes," Jamie Tchernykh said.

Tchernykh, a Russian immigrant, brought his daughter to the event.

"Well, she’s so young and I’m an immigrant myself. I came from Russia moved in 97. I think it’s very important that she gets to know all the cultures," Tchernykh said.

La Fiesta de Pueblo, which began 30 years ago with only 1,000 attendees, now attracts over 25,000 people.

Melissa Cervantes, a digital organizer with El Pueblo, emphasized the event's significance.

"When this event first started, it was one of the few events where the Latina community could come together and now it’s really just shows that we make up a vibrant part of North Carolina," Cervantes said. "There’s so many diverse groups of people in North Carolina, and that keeps growing and growing."

For those who left their home countries seeking a better life or those born in the U.S. wanting to connect with their heritage, attendees find a sense of belonging.

"When you’re living in another country where you were born and raised, you don’t really know so much about your families roots or anything and when there’s events where it belong to your parents, it belong to your descendents you start to feel like passion inside," Mildreth Gomez said.

For many attendees, the event provides a safe space to connect with their heritage and find resources for employment, healthcare, and more.

"We also want make sure that this is a great opportunity for people to get these free resources and information and some people may not have health insurance, or may just know the language. So here we have it in a culturally specific way," Cervantes said.

As the upcoming election approaches, organizers are encouraging attendees to get out and vote and participate in civic engagement.

Tchernykh stressed the importance of hearing from marginalized communities.

"A lot of people feel underrepresented and not being heard, so I think the first big step before we try to do anything more is just hear the real people out," she said.