Voice of Commonwealth

Holyoke celebrates Puerto Rican heritage with downtown festivities

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PUERTO RICO – There has been cross cultural development since the dawn of time where people from different background would leave their homes to find betterment for themselves and with them, they would take their own culture and heritage and in the new lands wat their cultures and heritages grow.

America in a beautiful melting pot of many cultures but the most colorful cultures in America is seen coming from the side of the Caribbean. There is now part of the USA that are multicultural that they have little areas dedicated to them for example Little Cuba and Little Puerto Rico. It was in one these neighbourhood that there has been a celebration of this culture and heritage.

Business owners in Holyoke are celebrating the city’s first Fiestas Patronales festival.

Thursday marked the start of the four-day event. Organizers are calling it the largest Latin-X outdoor event in western Mass., designed to celebrate the diverse culture of the island of Puerto Rico.

“We do something cultural because it’s important for our youth to get exposure to what is done on the island,” said event organizer Melvin Sanchez.

The celebration runs through Sunday in downtown Holyoke, with music, food, and mayor Joshua Garcia, who is the city’s first mayor of Puerto Rican descent.

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