Birmingham | Southern Señora

‘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!

I love this sign! It hangs in my kitchen…

Hola Y’all!

Today marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage month (September 15) and in celebration…

I am launching my blog – Southern Señora!

Latinos have been in the south for a long time – personally, I’ve been in Alabama since 1981, and I’ve seen the landscape change pretty dramatically in that time. There was a time when I could chit-chat in Spanish with my youngest sister at the local mall and no one would understand what we were saying. That’s definitely not the case anymore!

As the Hispanic community began expanding in the Birmingham region in the late 1990s, it wasn’t uncommon to hear Spanish being spoken more and more. And Latinos began exploring small business ownership and other entrepreneurial ventures. Translation businesses, Hispanic marketing firms, and Spanish-language newspapers and radio stations began popping up, just to name a few. More Mexican restaurants sprouted too and some restaurants had one standard menu for the general public, but would post a more traditional menu on the door for their Mexican clientele. I remember how excited my dad was about seeing “menudo” – a spicy traditional Mexican soup made from tripe – posted on the door of our favorite local restaurant bringing back memories of when grew up in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Latinos are making tremendous contributions in Alabama, be it through business, art, culture, or non-profit work. Sharing their great work and stories is part of what I want this blog to be about. I’ve made some great friends over the past 15 years as a Hispanic community volunteer. I love being able to connect people and then watch what happens next!

I will also be sharing stories about my Mexican-American family – hence the title of this post! More details on this later but just to tease a little – my dad was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico of Mexican-American parents – my blonde-haired-green-eyed mom was born in Oneonta, Alabama – they met and married in Cambodia, and I was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Whew!!! See what I mean?

As other Hispanic or Multicultural related subjects and “odds and ends” pop up, I’ll share those too. And finally, I’ll be sharing a LOT of photographs! It’s been a hobby of mine for many years and I like to think I’ve been influenced by my father’s amateur photography. He was such a perfectionist and had quite an eye for composing a photograph. You’ll see some of his photos here too.

So let’s get this blog started…VAMONOS!

Southern Señora

Sharing the Southern Hispanic lifestyle in Birmingham, Alabama!

Tag Archives: Birmingham

‘Twas the Night Before Fiesta…

Southern Fried Mexican-American by way of Southeast Asia!

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