The eighth Gran Festival celebration was held this past Saturday at Band Shell Park in Hampton. Gran Festival is a celebration of Latino cultures in north Iowa. The day featured family activities, cultural performances, live music, food vendors and informational community booths.
Radio on the Go broadcasted live from the celebration and talked with Val Gonzalez, a Department of Justice Accredited Representative with La Luz Centro Cultural, who spoke about the importance of Gran Festival.
*Gonzalez #1
“This is our yearly fundraiser for La Luz Centro Cultural, and this is our way of giving back to the community, bringing some culture and festivities in and traditions to be inclusive in the community.”
Janette Flores, the La Luz Centro Cultural Development Coordinator, spoke with us about the importance of not only the celebration, but the impact La Luz has on the community.
*Flores #1
“We help the Latino community around not just Franklin County, a lot of counties around here. Right now we especially have a summer program for kids. We usually have it after school during the school week. We also have English classes. We help with document preparation. We have someone, Valeria Gonzalez, who helps with immigration cases. She can help with that. We offer a food pantry and different workshops too. We help a lot of people who also don’t know how to navigate, let’s say like paying their bills or like the water like the city rules and stuff like that. We do a lot of like helping fill out forms, work applications, a lot of that.”
Funds raised from Saturday’s celebration will go toward La Luz Centro Cultural and the programs it offers.
