This year like many years, Fiestas del Llano, Inc. who is the founding organization for the celebration of ‘El Diez y Sies de Septiembre’ will once again hold its annual celebration Fiestas Patrias in Lubbock. The celebration of Fiestas Patrias which will be held at Buddy Holly Park and Landwer-Manicapelli House (Hispanic Culture Center) beginning September 15-17, 2016. Fiestas Patrias will be a celebration that exists as a remembrance of Mexico’s Independence from Spain. This type of celebration has brought the awareness to the general public of the battle of freedom that was won for the Mexican-Mestizo culture.
Fiestas del Llano, Inc. has sponsored Fiestas Patrias for 28 years in various venues of celebrations.
The first celebrations of Fiestas Patrias began with celebrations at local churches then moved to local parks. The Board wants to return to that type of celebration. The celebration will begin on Thursday, Sept 15 with the Grito de Dolores ceremony. This ceremony is the reenactment of Father Hidalgo’s declaration of Independence from Spain. The organization will also have a display of art pieces from local Hispanic artists that will be available for the attendees to view inside the Landwer-Manicapelli House. The following day, Friday, Sept 16 will consist of the Reina Hispana Pageant at Cavazos Middle School. Young Hispanic ladies compete for a scholarship to further their education. A Parade will begin the activities for Saturday, Sept 17 starting at 10:00 am on Broadway Avenue.
All organizations and non organizations or any type of clubs or groups are encourage to participate in the parade. Also, businesses, political groups, politicians are also welcome.
The main celebration will begin at noon, Saturday, Sept 17 at Buddy Holly Park. All of the events will be free with the exception of the Pageant which will only be a nominal fee of $5 per person. The organization feels that providing the free outdoor event will attract more families to enjoy the richness of the Mexican-Mestizo culture without reservation of cost.
The main celebration will consist of local bands including traditional Mariachi groups and Folklorico dancers. The organization is striving to bring back the traditional celebrations from its conception. Fiestas Patrias strives to maintain cultural purity in music, dance, and art as well as presenting current popular Hispanic music. Our goal is to educate young people about their heritage as Hispanics, to entertain adults with Tejano, Norteno, and Salsa style music, and to instill a pride about their heritage that has not always existed because of a lack of knowledge. Many people are not aware of the rich Hispanic traditions in music, dance, and art that have existed in West Texas since the early 1900s. The celebration will also consist of food vendors and a kids area. In the kids area, there will be a train, a jumper, crafts area and face painting.
(News release from Fiestas del Llano, Inc.)
