Category Archives: Fiesta

Fiesta 2016 – Some of my Favorite Photos

Drummer for Los Canarios on the Fiesta Coca Cola Main Stage

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day! The sky was blue and the temperature reached the low 80s and the sun made itself known throughout the day. After the constant drizzle of the previous year, this was so welcomed to the Fiesta board, volunteers and especially the patrons!

Approximately 14,000 people made their way to Linn Park in downtown Birmingham for the 14th annual Fiesta event on Saturday, September 24. My favorite things to do every single year is to walk the park, visiting all the booths and meeting and greeting all the nonprofits, businesses and vendors who come to be a part of this incredible event. I take their photos, welcome the new folks and catch up with old friends along the way.

A little girl wearing a traditional Mexican dress gets her nails painted in the Family Village.

One of the highlights of this years event was the competition between countries in the Cultural Village – the heart of Fiesta. A group of judges went through – anonymously – and voted on the best country booth based on presentation and creativity. This year the Mexico won the competition and took home $500! Next year, the stakes will be even higher as the best country booth will walk away with $1,000!

A collage of photos from past Fiestas adorned the Mexico booth in the Cultural Village. The Mexico booth won the first ever competition of Cultural Village country booths!

By the way…next year will be Fiesta’s 15th year anniversary – our quinceanera…and we have big things planned for this milestone! Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 30, 2017, for Fiesta 2017 and stay tuned for an event packed year leading up to this great event!

Mark your calendar for Fiesta 2017!!!!!

Meanwhile…please enjoy some of my favorite photos from this year’s Fiesta!

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Happy Anniversary Southern Señora!

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September 15th marks the 2nd anniversary of my blog – Southern Señora! Two years ago I made the decision to start this blog to share what I call “the Southern Hispanic lifestyle” in Birmingham, Alabama with y’all.

It’s been a great outlet for me and a way to share so many things. The feedback I’ve received has been terrific with encouragement for me to probe a topic a bit deeper and suggestions for other topics. The list is long and there is definitely enough material to post daily for quite some time! Now if I could only carve out more time to do that!

I chose September 15th as my start date because that date also marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. I wanted the date to be significant to me and what better way to kickoff a Hispanic lifestyle blog than on the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, right?! The month (Sept 15 through Oct 15) is ripe with stories to tell – both past and present. So much to write about!

In the past I’ve been involved and produced a number of events to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. It is a time in the US that we recognize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans and celebrate their heritage and culture. Celebrations occur in many ways. For instance, one year I organized a panel of local Hispanic professionals to discuss that years’ theme and address issues facing the community from their profession’s perspective. Another year, I organized an event complete with salsa dancing lessons and Mexican food. These events and several others were well attended because I have always found that people are thirsty for information about Hispanic culture. These events were also a lot of fun so when you are having fun you tend to learn more! I always love the immediately feedback. Questions like… “Are you going to do this again next year?” “Where can I take salsa dancing lessons for real?” “How can I get more involved with the Hispanic community?” “How do you make a tamale?” The list goes on…but I loved every minute of it and the way it got people thinking about not only light-hearted things like food and dancing, but also serious subjects like access to healthcare and helping to teach someone to speak English. Connecting people to all these things has always been very fulfilling to me. This blog is a way for me to continue doing that.

Presently, I am participating in a number of events around town to promote Hispanic Heritage month AND my favorite Hispanic cultural event…Fiesta! This will be Fiesta’s 14th year and when I think back on the history of this event and those of us who were there as it got started, I remain thrilled that it has made it to its teenage years, so to speak. This October 1st, I will be on hand at Linn Park at 8 a.m. with my traveler of Starbucks (for the board and committee members) and my camera to document my 14th Fiesta. Each year there is another favorite photograph that I capture from this event. Each year I am exhausted by the end of the day (around 11 p.m. that night!) but also exhilarated by the number of people we reach who come out to learn about Hispanic culture. Each year I am overwhelmed by the Hispanic community support and those who take the time to come out and share their stories and help make Fiesta a better event. Each year…I hope I can continue being a part of Fiesta and watch it grow and evolve.

Me and Fiesta Board President – Cristina Almanza – after our last board meeting this week holding one of our Fiesta yard signs. I love seeing these all over Birmingham leading up to the event each year!

Happy blog anniversary to me…and Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all.

Fiesta 2015…two thousand pictures later…

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Mosaico Flamenco performs on the Fiesta Coca Cola Main Stage

Every year, my main focus at Fiesta is capturing all the fun and festivities with my camera. From the set up to the village activities to the musical acts…I take a ton of photos! This year though, I think I topped my all time number of photos. As I downloaded from my camera on Sunday morning, I couldn’t believe the total number was well over two thousand pics! Editing is going to be fun…

One of the things that struck me as I flipped through the photos was the fact that the rain and cold weather on Saturday didn’t make a bit of difference in the smiles and enjoyment of the people who attended. Experiencing Fiesta in the cold and rain was new for ALL of us. Not that I want inclement weather for Fiesta 2016…but it’s clear that everyone made the most of Fiesta in the cold and rain and enjoyed it as if it were 80 degrees and sunny! I love our Fiesta family!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures so far…

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Fiesta 2015 Rain or Shine!

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This was the crowd during the last two acts of the night…incredible! Despite the cold!

This was Fiesta’s “lucky” 13th year. Every year as we (the organizers) approach the event, we always keep our fingers crossed about the weather and every year with the exception of one, the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. This year, the outlook started out that way…we kept looking at the forecast and it showed mild temperatures but sunny. Perfect, you could say! Then closer to the event, it showed cloudy and a chance of showers. Then it started raining…

Two Fiesta patrons in rain gear on their way to the Coca Cola Music Stage.

When you have an outdoor festival, you have to expect the weather will catch up with you at some point. So for Fiesta’s 13th year, it did. We thought the rain would stop by noon – that’s when Fiesta “officially” opens, so we were hopeful. Then the forecast changed to 1 p.m. – and if you were there, you know that didn’t happen. I think we were just on the wrong side of the road when it came to the rain. Thankfully, it wasn’t a downpour. And thankfully, people came out and simply put on hats, rain ponchos or just didn’t care about getting wet. Incredibly, as the day went on, and the drizzle came and went, people kept coming and enjoying the villages and especially the music. All in all, I would have to say this was one of our best years!

Veronica Richey with BB&T Bank threw on a rain poncho and got to work at her booth at Fiesta wearing a Costa Rica hat!

This year’s Fiesta showed us that people love this event and want to be here no matter what. It also proved to be one of the most diverse crowds I believe we have ever had. This absolutely thrilled us. This event matters to the Hispanic community and also to the community at large and this was proven with the numbers we saw all day long. About 10,000 people made it to Fiesta this year!

Personally, I had the best time once I stopped worrying about my soggy hair. Thank goodness for hair pins! As I walked through the park and strolled down the Cultural Village with my camera, I grew a little concerned for the Cultural Village. Each year these wonderful members of our Hispanic community bring their own personal artifacts and treasures to share with the Fiesta patrons. The tents helped keep things dry and the rain didn’t seem to affect those who were there. They just adjusted and pulled the crowds in to share their country stories.

Los Millos booth at the Food Village – this was early in the day as the food vendors began preparing food for the day. This is where I got the delicious empanadas from Jairo and Lucero Vargas!

So, right after my friends and Latino News owners, Jairo and Lucero Vargas treated me to empanadas at the Colombian food vendor – Los Millos, I walked through the village and visited my friend Miguel Vilchez who pulled the Peru booth together. He gave me a red Peruvian hat to wear to take care of my hair later that day – even though he said my hair looked fine – he’s such a gentleman! Across from Peru was the Mexico booth. Maria and Luis had pulled together two booths of beautiful Mexican art and pottery. It was so colorful! They gave me a Jarrito jug as a gift which is simply beautiful and then poured me a tequila shot and we took selfies. Next I went to take photos of the Cuba booth where they gave me some Cuban coffee…OMGEEEE! That was so wonderful and after the tequila, it REALLY warmed me up. When I tell you how awesome the Cultural Village is, you need to believe me! Because of the weather, we all huddled closer together under each tent as we made our way through the village and vendors stationed throughout. It was such a great feeling of friendship and belonging. It’s the type of feeling I want everyone to experience at Fiesta.

And here I was worried about the rain…

Me and Miguel at the Peru booth.

Jarrito jars at the Mexico booth. This is the type of clay jar that Maria and Luis gave to me at Fiesta. So beautiful!!!

Some of the beautiful items displayed at the Mexico booth!

Cuba booth! The Cuban coffee was safely tucked away behind the table…

Believe it or not…this little cup of Cuban coffee did wonders for the chill I was experiencing at Fiesta! Packed a punch!

With Maria and Luis at the Mexico booth toasting to a wonderful event with a tequila shot! Salud!

A few items from the Peru booth – Miguel gave me the red hat to wear as he packed up his booth to leave…sure did help hide my soggy hair!

Puerto Rico booth!

Fiesta Night with Los Barons – Part 2

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Students from Samford University Latin American Studies take to Regions Field for the parade of Latin American flags at Fiesta Night with Los Barons on August 27.

It was a beautiful afternoon…the weather was great, sun shining and a slight breeze found its way through the park every so often. I thought I was arriving at the park early to help Fiesta’s event manager extraordinaire, Denise Koch, put Fiesta flyers in all the cup holders at Regions Park. I should have known better. Denise had been hard at work since early that morning on Fiesta Night with Los Barons and had everything under control. I “did” manage to wrestle a small stack of the flyers away from her and finish up one section so she could take a break.

These Fiesta flyers were placed in every cup holder at Regions Field.

Fiesta and the Birmingham Barons partnered for a second year to bring a Latin flair to the ballpark this past August. Our thanks go out to the wonderful people at the Birmingham Barons, in particular, John Cook, Director of Sales, and Don Leo, Corporate Sales Manager, with the Corporate Partnerships Department, for all they did to make our time there so enjoyable.

Mike Suco, one of Fiesta’s founding board members poses with his son Mikey, and Barons Staff Members John Cook and Don Leo.

Once again, we had students from Samford University’s Latin American Studies participate in the parade of Latin American flags. We even had a few sponsors get into the act which thrilled us! Our sponsors from BB&T and Regions Bank both grabbed flags and made their way around the infield with the students and Fiesta board members. It was such a beautiful sight!

Students from Samford University Latin American Studies take to Regions Field for the parade of Latin American flags at Fiesta Night with Los Barons on August 27.

Next, Don Leo introduced Fiesta and a short video of last year’s event was shown on the big screen. The video was produced by board member Orlando Rosa with La Jefa Radio Station. Ever the perfectionist, Orlando mentioned later that he wasn’t completely happy with the video but the rest of us LOVED it! It definitely got the crowd going and gave them a taste of what to expect on October 3rd!

Fiesta board member, Orlando Rosa helps Don Leo of The Barons open up the game festivities in Spanish!

Mike Suco, one of Fiesta’s founding board members was on hand with his son Mikey, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Mike didn’t miss a beat and never lingered on the pitcher’s mound. He threw out the perfect pitch so fast we almost missed it! Reminded me of the early days of Fiesta when Mike would just get things done! It thrilled us to have Mike and his family with us that night to celebrate and reminisce about Fiesta, especially for some of the newer board members and sponsors who had never met him but heard a few of us talk about him with such admiration over the years.

Mike Suco, throws out the ceremonial first pitch as his son watches beside him.

As always, we had the opportunity to talk to interested people attending the Barons game about Fiesta and encourage them to get advance tickets to the event. Ronald McDonald came by to represent our Title Sponsor, McDonalds, and had pictures made with kids young and old. I always love it when adults want their picture made with Ronald! I had mine made with him last year!

One of the many photos Ronald McDonald took with Barons Baseball game attendees.

Don’t forget…Fiesta is Saturday, October 3rd from noon to 8 p.m. in downtown Linn Park! Meanwhile, here are a few more pics from our night with Los Barons!

Mike Suco and his son pose with the baseball before the ceremonial first pitch is thrown.

We had to get our photo with Ronald too! Left to right – Ronald, me, Vanesa Vargas and Freddy Rubio.

Orlando pulled double duty at the game with a live remote, along with his wife and co-worker, Maria – better known on air as La Chikis!

Parting shot of the Regions Field Birmingham sign as I was walking to my car after the game. This is such a beautiful facility. If you’ve never been, you have to check it out!

The parade of Latin American flags begins and is lead by the Stars and Stripes of the USA! That’s Fiesta Board member, Vanesa Vargas with the Fiesta sign in front!

Fiesta Night with Los Barons – Part 1

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Regions Field and the Birmingham Barons partnered with Fiesta to have Fiesta Night with Los Barons last year. We are gearing up for another fun event this week!

Last year, Fiesta was fortunate to partner with the Birmingham Barons for a night of baseball with a Latin flair! Fiesta Night with Los Barons was the perfect prelude to Fiesta 2014 and was so much fun to pull together and attend!

Ronald McDonald posed for pictures with fans and The Home Depot mascot made an appearance too!

Fiesta board members and volunteers arrived early that evening to fill the drink cups with flyers about that year’s event. Later, they staffed a table to pre-sell tickets to Fiesta and answer any questions about the festival. Our presenting sponsor, McDonalds was on hand to participate in that night and brought along Ronald McDonald who joked with the crowd and posed for pictures with everyone.

Samford Students participated in the Parade of Latino Country Flags before the beginning of the game.

Before the first pitch was thrown out, we arranged to have students from Samford University walk onto the field in a parade of flags representing about 15 Latino countries. So colorful! The students were later on hand for a check presentation photo when Fiesta awarded $5,000 to Samford University for Hispanic student scholarships. Carlos Aleman, Professor of History accepted the check along with students from the newly formed Samford University Latino Student Organization. It was so exciting to see the students and have them participate! And I have to say that just a few short months later, the Fiesta board asked Carlos to become a board member and he graciously accepted! We are fortunate to have him on board with us!

McDonald’s Owner and Fiesta Title Sponsor, Santiago Negre did the honors by throwing out the first pitch at the game.

After the parade of flags, it was time for the first pitch. Fiesta asked Santiago Negre, local McDonalds store owner and Title Sponsor of Fiesta, to do the honors. Santiago and his brother, Russell, have been wonderful to Fiesta and they are back this year (2015) as Title Sponsor once again! We are so fortunate to have them in Birmingham, not only for their Fiesta sponsorship but also for all the wonderful things they are doing for our community and city and always with such enthusiasm.

Santiago joked about his form and how he would throw the baseball as he went to the mound and then proceeded to throw out the most perfect pitch! It was great to be on the field when this was happening and feel the excitement around us. Santiago definitely made us proud with that pitch and we certainly let him know! The traditional race of the mascots was interesting too. From what I hear, the Hot Dog always wins and the Taco is left in the dusk. Well, this year we had Ronald McDonald running a little interference for the Taco and it won!!! That was quite a thrill for us, believe it or not!

Later we all grabbed a beverage – it was Thirsty Thursday after all – and enjoyed the game. The weather was beautiful that night and the crowd was great. Hopefully, we were able to reach some people who didn’t know about Fiesta and encourage them to attend last year.

If you are in town this week, come on out to Fiesta Night with Los Barons THIS Thursday, August 27 – Regions Field at 6 p.m. Fiesta tickets will be on sale and you won’t want to miss the Parade of Flags again. We also have a special guest who will be throwing out the first pitch! More on all this in my next post – Part 2 of Fiesta Night with Los Barons! Hope to see you there!

Fiesta Board and Volunteer Shirts for 2014 – the color definitely made us all stand out in crowds!

Carlos and the students get ready to show off the flags of Latin countries.

Photo opp with Santiago Negre and Fiesta Board Chair – Matt Ennis!

Fiesta Board Members are ready to have a blast at Fiesta Night with Los Barons! From left to right: Vanessa Vargas, Cristina Almanza, Teresa Zuniga Odom, Chris Miller, Matt Ennis and Orlando Rosa. (Missing from the photo: Ashlee Jones and Freddy Rubio)

Fiesta Event Manager, Denise Koch (far right), gives last minute instructions as the gates open.

What Are You Doing on October 3rd?

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Two little girls dressed in native dress, twirl to the music of the main stage…

Looking for something fun to do on October 3rd?

I know…I know…you can’t think past this Saturday, must less a Saturday in October, right?! Well, pull out your calendar NOW and write in BIG BOLD Letters….Fiesta! in Linn Park!

This will be Fiesta’s 13th year and we have a brand new “village” to add! I can’t tell you about it just yet but I guarantee you will love it!

Flamenco dancing on the Coca-Cola Main Stage at Fiesta 2014.

As always, we will feature our ever popular Cultural Village so our guests can learn and experience the cultures of the many Hispanic/Latino countries. In addition, we’ll have the Family Village, Health & Wellness Village, Community Village, Sports Village, Food Village, Dance Stage and Main Stage.

A look at the crowd around the Coca-Cola Main Stage at last years Fiesta!

McDonalds is returning as Fiesta’s Presenting Sponsor for a 2nd year and once again bringing their Fiesta Tour to the event. I was talking with local McDonald’s owner, Santiago Negre a few weeks ago and he told me the entire tour has been revamped and will be even more outstanding than last year! We really are so very grateful to Santiago and his brother, Russell, for bringing this wonderful addition to Birmingham for a second year in a row. It’s really quite a treat to see the tour and all the Hispanic music icons featured. The Negre brothers have really made their presence felt in our community and continue to do great things to impact lives.

You can stay up to date with all things Fiesta by liking our Faceboo k page, following us on Twitter, and following us on Instagram. Of course, you can also check our website at any time too. Tickets will be on sale soon! Go ahead and join the Facebook Event we’ve created and share with your friends. The more the merrier at Fiesta!

OK…now that you know the date…go put Fiesta on your calendar…RIGHT NOW! Hope to see you there!

The Hispanic Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama presented the flags of the Latin American countries at the opening of Fiesta last year.

Birmingham Chinese New Year Festival – Part 1

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This is the first of a three-part post about the Birmingham Chinese Festival Association and the annual Chinese New Year Festival.

Red Chinese lanterns lined the trees in Linn Park the first year of the festival.

The Magic City is filled with so many fun things to do! Some weekends, its hard to decide which way to turn with so many options! This past Saturday, I chose the 9th Annual Chinese New Year Festival at Boutwell Auditorium. Of course, I’m a little partial to this event since I around when it was born in 2006.

Before the festival was officially formed, many of the Chinese groups and organizations around town would celebrate Chinese New Year with smaller events. Even the Birmingham Museum of Art held a family event at one time. The year 2005 was a turning point though, and a concerted effort grew among the community to create one large event – a festival – to celebrate Chinese history and culture. This became a collaboration between the Birmingham Chinese Association (BCA), the Birmingham Public Library, the Birmingham Museum of Art and several other Chinese cultural groups. So, 2005 was the year the Birmingham Chinese Festival Association was born and they began planning their first Chinese New Year Festival in Linn Park.

Amy Chen of the BCFA served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the Chinese costume fashion show in the Birmingham Museum of Art. Here she entertains the guests with a favorite Chinese song.

Around this time, I met Amy Chen – a dynamo of a woman with a heart so full of a love of her Chinese culture you couldn’t help but smile every time she spoke to you about it! I always loved talking to Amy. Sometimes she would get so wrapped up in her stories she would tear up. Naturally, that would make me tear up too! She had been to my Fiesta event and loved what we were doing with our Hispanic cultural festival and wanted their Chinese festival to be a success just like ours. Amy asked me to come to some of the early organizing meetings where I shared what we did with Fiesta, how we organized, the types of sponsorships we looked for and how we mobilized volunteers to share their culture. Honestly, they had it all together already, but it was nice of Amy to ask me and for the organizing committee to listen to me. I helped Amy with sponsorship referrals that year and again a few years later when she became President of the BCFA. It’s hard to say “no” to Amy – and really, I didn’t want to because I know the work it takes to deliver a festival based on sponsorships and volunteers. It really was a joy to help her.

The Dragon is always a symbol of the Chinese New Year Festival.

So the first event in Linn Park was February 2007. It really was exciting and you could feel the excitement building as tables were set up by vendors and organizations around the fountain in Linn Park. The smell of Chinese food began drifting through the air from the gazebo in the park and I couldn’t wait to grab a plate and dig in! The opening ceremonies featured a ribbon cutting and fireworks along with the Dragon Dance through the park. Across the street at the museum, Amy was busy at work getting a fashion show ready with modern and traditional dress. In between costume changes, she arranged for music performances and even sang a song herself to the audience!

The models pose at the end of the Chinese fashion show. Some wore modern clothing and some wore traditional clothing. All were so colorful!

The festival drew about 4,000 people to downtown Birmingham on a sunny, cold February day, and much like Fiesta, it was more than was anticipated for a first time event and definitely enough to call it a success and began planning for the next year.

Part 2 – The festival steps up and moves into Boutwell Auditorium along with entertainment straight from China!

Photo opp with Curtis Pickens of AT&T, my friend, Peggy Burnett of the APC Foundation and Amy Chen at the sight of the ribbon cutting. Amy insisted we be a part of the ceremony!

The crowds were drawn to the many vendors at the festival. I saw many red lanterns walking away from the park, including one in my hand!

My friend, Peggy, learns how to use the Kau Cim Fortune Telling Sticks. First, you shake the cylinder so that the sticks pop out and then you select the tallest one. Finally, you read the number on the stick and look up your fortune in a book. Not as easy as it may sound but we enjoyed experimenting!

I love this picture of these little boys playing in the park.

This little girl was loving her costume and the fact that she got to walk the runway – a diva in the making!

This is Amy Chen’s daughter rocking this pink traditional costume.

This is probably one of my favorite costumes. I don’t know if it’s because of the turquoise color or simply the fact that the model is so beautiful.

This guy was hilarious! A friend of Amy Chen’s from work…he volunteered to walk the runway and did his costume proud!

In between costume changes, this young woman entertained the guests by playing a “sanxian” – a Chinese lute.

Fiesta…one thousand pictures later…

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Fiesta 2014 is now a great memory for the board and planning committee…it was an incredible day! Last Saturday, September 27th, we enjoyed great weather, huge attendance, many new vendors and participants, and reconnected with so many long time amigos! We reconfigured our set-up in Linn Park and it really made a difference in the attendee traffic. Everywhere I looked, there were people and families enjoying the event, eating delicious food and sitting on the beautiful green grass.

Our title sponsor, McDonalds, brought an incredible exhibit – The Fiesta Tour – a 53-foot long traveling mobile unit that pays tribute to Latin GRAMMY winners – to Birmingham for us to enjoy. Every time I went by the exhibit, there were crowds – such a beautiful sight! The Santiago brothers, Santiago and Russ, have been wonderful partners to Fiesta this year and we are so grateful for their presence!

The McDonald’s Fiesta Tour entrance. What an incredible exhibit!

A dress worn by Gloria Estefan and a guitar owned by Carlos Santata – just a few of the items in the McDonald’s Fiesta Tour on display.

Sombrero belonging to Mexican artist – Vicente Fernandez – in the McDonald’s Fiesta Tour.

Ronald McDonald gets anchored in Linn Park, in the Family Village.

I downloaded more than one thousand photos last Sunday afternoon. It always amazes me how many photos I take at Fiesta each year. And yet, there are always shots I miss and think about later. Oh! And this doesn’t include the photos I take with my iPhone! One of my favorite elements this year was having the Hispanic Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama participate with the presentation of colors, pledge of allegiance, Girl Scout promise (in English and Spanish), and finally parade around the park with the flags of the Latin countries while dressed in native costumes! It was absolutely a BEAUTIFUL sight! In fact, I do believe (aside from the music acts), that the Girl Scouts were the most photographed group of the day! The magnificent Marisela Mendez, the Hispanic Initiative Manager for GSNCA, worked for many weeks to pull the girls and their families together for Fiesta. This Dominican woman is a “powerhouse” and the community is lucky to have her working for Hispanic girls in our region. Her heart is all about connecting these little girls with Girl Scouts and she will do everything possible to ensure they can have the Girl Scout experience in their lives.

This precious little one lead the Girl Scouts around the park in the parade of flags, dressed in a beautiful white mariachi outfit.

The Girl Scouts pose in front of their booth at Fiesta.

The Hispanic Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama during the flag ceremony – presentation of colors.

Talking to one of the Girl Scouts after the parade of flags…this little one was so precious and apparently I wasn’t saying her name the right way – she kept correcting me! (Photo credit: Cristina Almanza)

I’ve pulled a few of my favorite photos from Fiesta to share on the blog. If you were at Fiesta and took some photos, please post them on the Fiesta facebook page! We would love to see what you captured!!!

This little one kept twirling to the music next to the main stage. Such joy!

This little girl saw me taking photos of the girl in the pink and decided she wanted to twirl and have her picture taken too!

Sugar Skull faces at Fiesta! These young ladies were popular – everyone wanted to have their pictures taken with them!

Got to hang out with my daughter, Anna Marie, for part of the day. She is always so helpful when I’m making my photography rounds in the park.

Dancers on the stage…they certainly drew a crowd!

Running into Ricardo and Aimee Aparicio was the best!Reconnecting with long time friends is one of the joys of Fiesta for me. Ricardo was there when Fiesta was started.

On stage with El Dasa! Great energy during his entire performance!

El Dasa’s surprise meet and greet with a young girl battling cancer – I don’t think there was a dry eye in the trailer when this happened.

A crowd shot from the stage as El Dasa performs…

It’s always fun to run into Clark Scott and Larry Gay at Fiesta. They take some amazing photos each year!

Crowds were massive this year at Fiesta 2014!

Traditional Mexican dresses for sale at Fiesta.

Two of the hardest working women at Fiesta this year – board members Vannessa Vargas and Cristina Almanza! They absolutely ROCK!

‘Twas the Night Before Fiesta…

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‘Twas the night before Fiesta and all through Linn Park…not a creature was stirring…well, THAT’S not exactly true! Fiesta’s event planner extraordinaire, Denise Koch of Denise Koch Events, was there working with the tent company, and others to get the park ready for Fiesta 2014 tomorrow! Remember, Fiesta takes place tomorrow – Saturday, September 27th, from noon to 8 p.m. in Linn Park…admission is $8 at the gate and children 12 and under attend for free!

Here are a few photos of the event prep and also Fiesta’s morning on Fox 6 News with Jeh Jeh Pruitt to promote the event.

It’s always fun to find a Coca-Cola Truckback with the Fiesta poster every year!

Our event planner, Denise Koch, works on getting the signage up in Linn Park.

The McDonald’s Fiesta Tour arrives at the park! This exhibit is so incredible – can’t wait to see it again!

Main stage schedule of acts for Fiesta 2014.

Sun setting on Linn Park Friday night…the tents all in place and just waiting for the exhibitors to arrive in the morning…

A look at some of the Fiesta signage and the FiestaTour in the background in front of Boutwell Auditorium.

Linn Parks presents…Fiesta 2014! Nice place for our sign!

Jeh Jeh Pruitt gets into the first Fiesta segment on Fox 6 News! He really liked that sombrero!

Ronald has fun with Nicky and Vincent Koch in between Fox 6 News segments.

Fox 6 news coverage of Fiesta with Jeh Jeh Pruitt, Matt Ennis (Fiesta Board President), and Birmingham McDonald’s owners, Santiago and Russell Negre…and of course, Ronald McDonald!

Cooking segment featuring Mi Pueblo on Fox 6 News – the food at Fiesta is always the best!

Table set up for the Fox 6 News Segment.

Photo opp with Jeh Jeh Pruitt in between Fiesta segments. He’s such a fun guy!

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