| Centro Hispano's Fiesta Hispana is an amalgamation of the efforts of several generations of Madison's Latino community to present the vast and complex Latino culture -- made up of the cultures of Mexico, Argentina and everything in between -- to the larger Madison community. Beginning in 1983 when Centro Hispano was in its infancy under the direction of Ilda Thomas, Fiesta Hispana has grown over the subsequent 24 years to become Madison's largest showcase of Latino culture. In 1991, Dora Zuniga took over the reins of Centro Hispano and Fiesta when it was still being held on the Capitol Square almost as an adjunct to the Farmers Market. "I remember Tiawanaku performing at the time and they would hold a parade," Zuniga recalled during an interview with The Capital City Hues. "I had participated in Fiesta Hispana for a couple of years before I became executive director. I used to work at United Migrant Opportunities Services. And for a couple of years, we did it as a fundraiser where we sold fajitas. And guess whose booth was best attended? We sold out. It was a relatively low-key festival at the time." Zuniga also remembers a young brother and sister dance act performing at those Fiestas, Carmen and Jesus Avila. "Their older sister Marta had a little cart and then she started El Charro on State Street," Zuniga said. "For the Mexican Independence Day, they would hold a little event outside their restaurant. And so Carmen and her brother Jesus would dance in different costumes. It started with the brother and sister. So before they became the famous group Ballet Folklorico Mexico de Los Hermanos Avila, because of their support for Centro, they would come to Fiesta. To see them evolve from a brother and sister to a big troupe has been very exciting." Zuniga and Centro moved the Fiesta to State Street's Library Mall her first year. And her good friend Francisco Silva -- whom she later married -- coordinated the event for her. And from there, the festival was moved to Olin Park. "It was very hot at Olin Park and we were cooking fajitas," Zuniga recalled. "We were cooking over the coals in five-minute shifts because it was so hot. We were also roasting corn by then. It was very popular. One year, Victor Arellano came and sang some of his original pieces. I think one year we had some steel drummers. We tried to spend as little money as possible. We had vendors from Milwaukee. It was in a relatively small area. We moved it there to address the parking problem and the number of people attending kept getting bigger. We wanted to find a permanent home." Agustin Olvera, a Centro board member, was very committed to Fiesta and felt it could be made into a larger festival. He provided the leadership to move it to Warner Park and to stage a larger production. "It made sense because there were a lot of Latinos living in the Warner Park area," Zuniga said. "It was a well-suited facility and that's when we started to spread out from just one area. Agustin was the chair for Fiesta for three years. At least one of those years, he was the board president at the same time. He put a lot of thought and effort into it. We had mariachis one year." When Lucia Nunez became executive director of Centro in 1999, she and Mark Fraire, a Centro board member, took Fiesta to new heights as it expanded to three entertainment areas. After Nunez left Centro in 2003, Luis Gomez and then Peter Munoz carried on the tradition of Fiesta. Historically, what has made Fiesta a Latino community event was the level of community volunteerism in putting Fiesta on. "There were some volunteers whom you could always count on to be there," Zuniga said. "Tomas Contreras and his family would be there to help set up and help tear down the event. That was their way of giving back. They might have a food stand, but you could always count on them to haul away the generators and they would be there until all hours of the night. And Agustin would be there along with a bunch of other people who were just very dedicated to the Fiesta. Geraldo Paz and his family would come out and sell sodas every year. He would get other people from MG&E to volunteer as well. We also had a lot of volunteers who would show up to do a lot of things for the children's tent as well." While it has been a decade since Zuniga left Centro, she still attends Fiesta and feel it is a very important community event. "It gives old and new friends an opportunity to see each other," Zuniga said. "There are people whom I never see, but at the Fiesta. It's a great opportunity for the greater Madison community to come learn a little bit about our culture and see us in a different position than just the waiter at the restaurant. We get to mix together no matter what your economic background is. I think the most important part for me is bringing my kids and sharing my passion for the music and talk about traditions and bring up stories of when I was a kid and how those sounds remind me of something from growing up in Mexico. That's my favorite part. It's a way for me to stay connected as well. Having lived in Madison for 26 years, those Fiestas have really been a connector to back home. We are so spread out throughout Madison that it can be pretty lonely." While Fiesta is always a great time for the entire family, there are many untold hours spent planning the event and a lot of worries that go along with it. It puts extra demands on the Centro staff and as the host; the executive director can worry about many things that can go wrong. "One of the challenges of Fiesta is whether or not the weather will cooperate," Zuniga reflected. "There was this one morning. It was 4 a.m. My husband Francisco and I were laying in bed pretending that we were both asleep. He was coordinating Fiesta and I was the executive director. We leaned over to each other and asked if we were both awake. It was raining outside. I had 150 pounds of skirt meats. He had scheduled all of these musicians and so forth. And there wasn't a rain date. Either we had it or we didn't. A couple of hours later, we were blessed and it turned into a muggy, but beautiful day. And we did sell out of fajitas." Fiesta Hispana is a wonderful event that Centro Hispano gives to the community each year. And Zuniga feels that it is important for the community to give back to Centro. "Centro Hispano has done a tremendous amount of work with very little resources," Zuniga reflected. "So it is critical for each one of us to support Centro, not just by coming to Fiesta, but also contributing through United Way or making a straight donation to Centro to let it know that it is important. Maybe we can't give our time, but $10 from each one of us would make a huge difference to the betterment of those who aren't as fortunate as we are." Giving is what community is all about. |
| Former Centro Hispano Executive Director Dora Zuniga Fiesta Hispana retrospective By Jonathan Gramling |
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