You can do so much better than that.
I took the kids to the zoo yesterday morning (forgot my camera, so no pictures. Sorry!) After that, we went to Pato’s work to eat. He asked if we wanted to go to the Latino Heritage Festival. I’ve wanted to go for years, but he always works when it’s on. Who knew we could have gone during break. Off we went.
I was surprised that we weren’t heading downtown, that’s where it used to be. He said, no it’s in the parking lot of Southridge mall. Parking lot? Of the mall? Well, this is going to be a huge festival, I’m sure. (The move to the parking lot was to get the festival to dryer land after all the flooding we’ve had the last few years, that I can understand.)
I kept an open mind though, hoping that my girls would get to see a lot of different things celebrating their heritage. First pulling in, there was a little corral where women and men were doing work with horses. At one point they were dancing with them. That was awesome. My hopes shot up immediately. In fact, it was the most awesome thing of the entire festival.
The talent show was ok.
The rest of it? Bleh. Seriously, it was like the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fair. If you’ve never been to the Iowa State Fair, well, first, you should go.
In 2005, Midwest Living magazine named the event one of the "Top 30 Things Every Midwesterner Should Experience." The Fair’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 2004 was named the #2 choice for summer fun in America by USA Weekend.
Telling you, the fair is a good time.
But, when I say the Latino Heritage Festival was like the Varied Industries Building, I mean it’s a bunch of people hawking their wares to Latinos. I don’t care about banks, I don’t need to sign up for Mediacom, not going to college any time soon.
I wanted to see small individual Latino businesses selling their stuff. I would have bought a ton. Instead there were a few booths amidst the others that said, Mexico, Spain, Ecuador, Honduras, Cuba, I’m trying to think if there was another one? In those tiny booths, they had a few things laid out from that country. Not much to buy.
This was not a Latino celebration, it was a celebration for all the banks in the city of Des Moines mas o menos.
There were other things on the entertainment schedule that we didn’t have time to stay for, so maybe those would have lifted my opinion of it.
There was Hispanic food on one side. That’s always good. I got myself an elote and agua de horchata – which I almost spit out and gave to Pato. It was like really watered down coconut juice. It wasn’t the rich milky cinnamon, vanilla, rice water I love.
Oh there was Salsa dancing. A group of people like myself, who I am assuming are just learning how to Salsa. That is awesome! It’s great to branch out and learn new things, but really, if you’re putting on a performance in front of a crowd of people, stop stopping every few seconds and breaking out into giggles like a high school girl talking to the star of the football team. That’s cute when you’re 8, not standing in front of a crowd where 95% of the people probably hit the Mexican bar every weekend, and spin like you’ve never seen people spin before. (And that is why I wouldn’t have gotten up on that stage. I’ve been out dancing with Pato and his friends. Every single one of them can dance.) Just saying’.
I’m feeling a little hypercritical, but the whole thing just left a bad taste in mouth.
Pato wasn’t thrilled with it either so this isn’t just the opinion of a white girl looking in. Ask me if I’d pay the $12 we paid ($5/adult $1/child, Nano was free) to get in again next year. Gracias, pero no.
My kids get more of a taste of Mexican culture sitting in their dad’s restaurant then they did at the Festival.
It was just an excuse for those American huge businesses to reach Latinos. Call it what it is. When they start filling that festival with actual LATINO businesses, and there are TONS of them in Des Moines, tons of them. You drive through parts of the East side and it’s all Hispanic shops. When that happens, when the festival is full of color and sounds and smells that are truly Latino, I would go back down. Until then, I just have to drive down my street if I want to go to a bank or pick up my phone if I want Mediacom to come install cable.
The kids made a maraca out of a pop bottle and pop corn. Woot woot! There was another long table with more activities, but at that point, I was just disgusted, and wanted to leave.
Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
On the other hand, the zoo was fun. The zoo is what it is, as advertised, love the animals, kids had a blast, etc etc etc. 
Have a great day!
ETA – My husband pointed out that the banks and all those businesses were probably sponsors. They are, I checked the website. Doesn’t matter to me. There was not enough Latino to the Latino festival. He still agrees with me on that.
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