The smell of fresh arepas lingered in the air on Main Street as vendors gathered on Saturday for the Main Street Latin Festival.
The street was filled with Latin American flags and music for the free festival that lasted from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. A large stage was set up that showcased musicians and dancers throughout the event.
“We like coming down to Main Street every Saturday just to see what’s going on," said Maggie Sullivan, a second-year psychology and criminology student. "But it was a pleasant surprise that it was a Latin Festival today so we get all the pineapples and culture food.”
And yes — there was a lot of food. One vendor filled pineapples with virgin piña colada drinks and others cooked authentic Latin cuisine in bulk to sell to attendees. One of the vendors, Keiber Ojeda, was there with his family business, The Arepa Chef.
Ojeda's family is from Venezuela and had its food truck set up to sell arepas — corn patties that can be filled with a variety of ingredients. He described the traditional dish as gluten-free and a healthy alternative to your typical taco or burger. Ojeda said his family is trying to bring traditional Venezuelan food to South Carolina.
Ojeda and his family have been coming to the Latin Festival for a while and this year, with their food truck, they are able to participate in the festivities as vendors.
“Everybody comes here to share their experiences and I think that’s great for Columbia so they can be as diverse as they can," Ojeda said. "‘Cause it helps the community grow and it helps the city in total grow.”
Second-year biology student Shakeria Nickson heard about the festival from her Latinx roommate and friends and was also excited for the food.
“I think it’s great because, you know, a lot of us go to USC and it’s really multicultural," Nickson said. "And it’s good to for us to understand where some of our classmates come from."
But it wasn't just food. Many vendors sold trinkets and souvenir items such as flags and soccer jerseys. Street musicians played guitar and sang in the middle of the tent-lined street. Soon, all of Main Street was filled with the sights, smells and sounds of Latin culture.
Ivan Segura attended the festival with the non-profit organization Palmetto Luna Arts.
“We’re just like any other community. We like food and we like dancing and we like art and we like everything," Segura explained. "But we also are concerned about other things like the safety for our communities, having good jobs, having good schools for our kids.”
The tent he was set up in housed a large black and white canvas titled "Bailadores" by a Latina artist. Segura described the work as a "community mural," and provided paint for festival attendees to complete the work of art in a paint-by-number style.
“It’s gonna be a community-created mural," Segura said, "But the idea is that we are trying to empower Latina women.”
Segura explained that the most important part of the Main Street Latin Festival was that it was actually in Main Street, which he described as "the heart of Columbia."
“This gives opportunity for everybody to mingle, to get to know a Latino, to get to experience the Latino culture," Segura said, "To see that we are more than Cinco de Mayo or the Day of the Dead."