To have been working on something since 2017 and seeing it so close to becoming a reality is a feeling I don’t even know I’ve ever felt before (let alone have a word for). I am endlessly grateful to be a part of this journey and to work with the LQWF team to make this event amazing.
There are many reasons to contribute to the fundraising campaign, and you’ll see lots of that lingo around, but I want to come at you right now as a friend, as someone you know who is directly involved with and fiercely passionate about this project.
The JP World’s Fair was one of the only times I was “allowed” to go to Hyde/Jackson Square. I don’t think I would have ventured out there as a tween if it wasn’t for that event because that neighborhood was always deemed “unsafe” by the people in my life who made the rules.
I had my first tamale at the JPWF. I learned what affordable housing activism is at the JPWF. I saw costumes and art and heard music I had never seen live or knew existed at the JPWF.
How could a kid who lived so close (Holbrook Street) be so disconnected from their neighbors like that?
It was epic for me.
‘Why does a gringa from the Centre/South area cares so much about this neighborhood?’
Without The Latin Quarter community, I wouldn’t be me. There’d be a vital piece of who I am missing.
When I think of beautiful things & moments in my life, I definitely think of back in the day when I would venture up to Hyde/Jackson and be a part of the festival crowd (10k people!), dancing and clapping and stomping my feet.
Over the years I’ve worked in JP, I’ve heard many others say the same.
Bringing this vibrant event back and reimagining it is a conversation that has consistently happened in my life since the JP World’s Fair “ended.”
And, no, I wasn’t the one always bringing it up to reminisce.
So why bring it back? Why reimagine it?
Someone wrote somewhere this week to “let it die.”
Let it die!?
No.
Nope.
¡De ninguna manera!
The Latin Quarter is a gorgeous community with gorgeous people.
It always has been.
But NOW, in 2019, it’s getting the POSITIVE recognition & attention it has always deserved for all of the creative, entrepreneurial, diverse activity & energy that resides there and makes it the extraordinary place it is.
The Latin Quarter is unique, and all of Boston & Massachusetts is finally recognizing that and celebrating it by designating it a Cultural District.
The Latin Quarter World’s Fair is a celebration of ALL of that but also a celebration of the artists, merchants, organizers, activists, musicians, teachers, residents, youth, bartenders, seniors, rock-n-rollers, immigrants, entrepreneurs, families, dancers, LATINOS, LATINAS, LATINX….EVERYONE who makes the Latin Quarter the incredible community it is.
And although the Latin Quarter seems to celebrate every day, I hope that if you haven’t already experienced the colors, sounds, smells, and excitement of Boston’s Latin Quarter, you will on Sunday, September 15, 2019.
When you can, please, consider making a contribution to ensure The Latin Quarter World’s Fair becomes a reality.
Trust me (no, seriously, *trust me*), EVERY donation will make an impact.