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Pasadena Latino Heritage Parade and Festival Entertains Thousands

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL TAKIZAWA
Published on Monday, October 3, 2022 | 5:00 am
 

After a gap of two years, Pasadenans were excited to come out for the City’s 24th Latino Heritage Parade and Festival on Saturday, Oct. 1 for a day of music, dance, and food.

An estimated 2,000 spectators and parade participants enjoyed the picture-perfect day.

Afterwards, a festival at Villa Parke entertained the crowd.

“The dance floor was immediately crowded,” Bob Monzon, Chairman of the Pasadena Latino Heritage Committee, said. “There were people dancing even beyond the dance floor. It was just a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed the music. It was nice to see everyone having a good time and one of the things that stood out to me was the diversity of the crowd. We had a really good diverse crowd, so everyone got a chance to enjoy the fair.”

Yoland Trevino, who was earlier selected as Community Grand Marshal of the Latino Heritage Parade and Festival, said attendance was not as good as two years ago, which was the last time there was an actual parade before the pandemic forced virtual versions.

“The entries to participate in the parade were less than last years; however, the exuberance of the participants made it an amazing quality,” Trevino said.

Aside from being Community Grand Marshal, Trevino also had members of the Pasadena/Altadena Coalition of Transformative Leaders (PACTL), of which she’s Executive Director, participating in the parade and organizing a booth at the festival for families and children.

“They were face painting children’s faces,” Monzon said. “You should have seen her when she showed me her booth, and the line of the kids going there to get their face painted was super long. She was having a really good time.”

Trevino said the organization also brought families from Pacoima to be part of the annual Latino Heritage celebration.

“One of the favorites was my organization, PACTL, as it demonstrated unity in diversity, with Black and Latino families, as well as our diverse staff that participated,” Trevino said. “We serve the Pacoima area and many families came from Pacoima to participate. The crowds loved the bands and the equestrian entries families took many pictures with children and the horses. The Aztec dancers were another favorite and families felt special as many were ceremonially blessed by them.”

Liliana Perez, the Latino Heritage Parade Grand Marshal, also brought one of the LA Chargers players to the event, who drove a vehicle that bore the Charger colors. Perez is the Cultural Affairs Director for the Chargers.

“That was a big hit,” Monzon said. “People loved that it was playing music. It was a lot of fun.”

The equestrian group included some horses that were brought in from Spain, which was a big attraction during the parade. The Pasadena Unified School District also has their marching band at the event. During the Festival phase at Villa Parke, the popular Latino themed band La Sonora Dinamita played dancing music, to which the crowd enjoyed dancing through the afternoon.

Monzon said he was glad to see a fairly large crowd lining the short parade route, which showed people were happy to be enjoying some outdoor events that many haven’t seen over the last two years because of the pandemic.

“I’d like to see more of that next year. I mean, this year was the best ever. It was a lot of fun to see so many people along the parade route,” he said.

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