This Weekend ¡Fiesta Latina! Hispanic Cultures Celebration At Peabody

NEW HAVEN, CT — ¡Fiesta Latina!, a free and open to the public celebration of Hispanic cultures featuring music, dance, and food, will take place Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Junta for Progressive Action, 169 Grand Ave., and at the Peabody Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m.

The event is a collaboration between the Peabody Museum, Junta for Progressive Action, New Haven Pride Center, Arte Inc, the New Haven Free Public Library, and Music Haven. Univision is the media sponsor.

"Our goal is to celebrate Hispanic culture through community programming and through sharing objects from the Peabody’s collections about those cultures," Yale Peabody Museum education director Andrea Motto said. "The aim is to move this from a one-day event, to a series of events throughout Hispanic Heritage month at various community venues, which culminate in a weekend at Junta and at the Peabody Museum."

The festivities will begin at noon with a performance by Proyecto Cimarron, a Puerto Rican Bomba performance group. The Spanish Community of Wallingford’s youth mariachi band and dance troupe, committed to preserving the cultural heritage of Mexico, will take the stage at 1:30 pm. Tere Luna, a singer who specializes in the romantic genre of bolero music, will perform at 2:30 pm. The show will conclude with Orquesta Afinke, a salsa band based in Stratford, CT.

"We at Junta for Progressive Action are thrilled to continue our collaboration on this celebration of Latin American cultures," said Cheila Serrano, Director of Programs. "This event is a powerful reminder of the rich heritage that unites our community, and we are excited to bring everyone together for a weekend filled with music, dance, and cultural exchange."

All performances will take place in the Peabody Museum’s new Central Gallery, a bright and open space featuring an epic battle between an Archelon (a large prehistoric turtle) and a Mosasaur, a fearsome prehistoric fish, high in the rafters.

Click here for the full festival lineup.