May 19, 2024
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Bigger Latino Music and Food Fest staged in Joliet on Saturday

Bands, vendors and more help celebrate Mexican Independence Day

By Bob Okon

Vendors set up last year for the first Joliet Latino Music and Food Fest. Organizers said 40 vendors will be at the event on Saturday, which runs 3-11 p.m.

The Latino Music and Food Fest will bring eight hours of music and food to downtown Joliet on Saturday.

The event is 3 to 11 p.m. in Van Buren Plaza.

It’s been expanded from the first Latino Music and Food Fest in 2021, said Alex Paramo, president of the Joliet Latino Economic Development Association that organizes the event.

“Last year we had a handful of vendors. This year we have well over 40,” Paramo said. “There will be a lot more food.”

Vendors include community and informational booths.

The music runs into the night with the headline act being Dareyes de la Sierra, a popular norteño group from Sonora in Mexico.

Other bands include ChiOax from Chicago, Tamanaco Tambor, which plays Venezuelan percussion music, and Sangre Norteña. Local bands Mariachi Comunidad and Empresso 815 will start out the festival in the afternoon. And, performers will include the dance group Ballet Folklorico de Chicago.

A Grito de Dolores ceremony commemorating Mexican Independence Day will feature the Mexican Consulate in Chicago. The event is the day after Mexican Independence Day, which also kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month.

“We hope that everyone can come out and have a good time,” Paramo said. “We know that Joliet has a huge Mexican population, but we also are celebrating other Hispanic cultures.”

More than 3,000 attended the event last year, Paramo said, and organizers expect a bigger turnout Saturday.