latina fiesta 1200x520 - Fiesta Latina

Fiesta Latina

Posted on 8th Sep 2022 | admin

Our Fiesta Latina was born out of a conversation I had with a fellow Colombian living in Cornwall. She started a Facebook group called Latinos en Cornwall, UK many moons ago and would organise parties where the South American community would get together and do what we do best, party! She had stopped for various reasons but mentioned she missed them. Me being the social butterfly I always have been, suggested that we start them again, with the addition of the Cornish community. What better way to celebrate life than to get our communities together and share our culture with the locals?

We initially thought we would have it as a summer BBQ in one of the village halls but as the idea developed, we thought, if we are celebrating South American culture, it needs to be outside! Having spoken to the lovely team at the Tregony Sports and Social Club, (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=tregony%20sports%20and%20social%20club)

they agreed to host it for us! This was a fantastic venue as it has plenty of outside sitting space, a field, parking and had a brand spanking new bar! There is also a children’s park, right next to it, so all in all, a great location for a summer bash!

Another conversation which helped shaped the day, was with a good friend Anneka, who has braved a lengthy 200 mile bike ride, in order to fundraise for The Butterfly Cornwall, who offer Palliative Care and End of Life care at the hospital. We decided out summer party would be a great opportunity to raise funds for such a worthwhile cause.

 (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Anneka-Southworth3?fbclid=IwAR1G3tzG1XFvtBdNvXJq_vSTTiqrFdxPXwLwwZ4GsdoQbnVggkLANt50oNQ )

She was happy to jump onboard and help planned what turned out to be a fab day, despite the sun hiding from us! Run by a group of some very lovely volunteers, we had:

Andrea Summerskill is a qualified teacher and worked in children’s events in Colombia, prior to arriving in Cornwall. She has a passion for children and teaching them Spanish and has even written her very own children’s book! She led the children’s hour, where she got them singing and dancing in both languages! She then engaged them in the story telling corner, which was followed by some crafts. Andrea is incredibly talented and is now getting involved with various children’s projects in and around Truro. What a star!

Catatumbo then followed her, they are a collective of British and Venezuean men who live in West Cornwall and have recently started this fantastic band sharing South American rhythms with a Cornish twist. Could they have been more fitting?! They have recently played at the Equinox at St Ives Community Orchard (https://www.stivesorchard.co.uk/whats-on-st-ives-orchard/), Chypraze Farm Produce (https://chyprazefarm.co.uk/) and Tropical Pressure Festival (https://www.tropicalpressure.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR3ZIKF9nuHdCLxho3l0snT5wlj3jLoZ_IubWbJckCH_czR_mBYdqW9U7GI) .

They produced sounds which along with the dancing, the smell of BBQ and even the spot of rain, played the sweet sound of nostalgia that truly touched my heart, in the most romantic way. Long gone are the days I spent swimming in rivers, with my mum and aunties cooking over open flames in one of Papito’s farms. But just for that one day alone, it was just beyond amazing to speak in Spanish, dance, sing and laugh. What I am made of. Forget sugar and spice! Well maybe keep the spice, let’s chuck out the sugar, heh? 😉

Then came the dancers! Salsa Bonita (https://www.facebook.com/salsa.bonita.58), a fantastic group from St Austell led by the lovey Hayley Newton, who is a phenomenal teacher! With ease, she gave clear, easy to follow instructions, was easy going and brought with her, a friendly following of fellow Salsa lovers. Combined with Catatumbo, the pair made a recipe for an unforgettable rumba! Thank you both!

Then came the Father’s Race! The Fiesta was on Father’s Day and wanting to celebrate all the dads that came, we had a bottle for them but had to, of course, make them work for it! Rory from One in All Sports led the race and I have to be honest; it was by far one of the best bits of the day. At first, we didn’t get many takers, but after they received strict instructions from my two-year-old to “get over there, right now!!” the start line got busier! Some fell over, some didn’t make it past the start line, and we had one clear winner. They were fantastic!

The rain arrived as we were calling the last raffle numbers, how lucky were we?!?! At that point, it was home time for most, but you know, we love a sing a long! The last ones standing made their way into the social club and the mic came out. We had some fantastic performances from Jason, Ed (obviously!), Beth and the gorgeous Oriana Meneses who sang  an incredible version of Rumour Has It by Adele. Oh and Andrea KILLED it with Ricky Martin’s Viva La Vida Loca, what a ROCKSTAR!!!!

We were also lucky enough to have received sponsorship from various local businesses, which made for some very attractive raffle prizes, thank you!

And last but by no far least, we received a very generous donation from Simon (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100035421384163) which brought our grand total for the day to £1086.43!

Thank you all so much for a fantastic day, though the weather could have been better, it was a fantastic day. What a bast!

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