West New York’s very first Hispanic Music and Art Festival drew thousands of local residents to Boulevard East on Sunday.
“The idea started last year in trying to put together a street festival where we would highlight music and painters and artists that live in the area, either in West New York or close by,” said West New York Commissioner Alberto Rodriguez, who was instrumental in organizing the event. “And we decided to do it in October, which is Hispanic Heritage Month.”
The date chosen, Oct. 12, is also Hispanic Day, which is recognized throughout Latin America.
The festival included staged musical performances and displays of local artists’ work with the backdrop of New York City.
“I think it is just a matter of taking advantage of having that beautiful area, that beautiful park, and a beautiful view of New York,” Rodriguez said, “and combining it with all the local artistic talent and the result is a music and art festival in West New York.”
The event also featured carnival and pony rides for kids and vendors selling toys, food, and household items. Two famous radio personalities, El Pacha and Ino Gomez, were involved as masters of ceremonies.
Local artists were glad about the event.
“I think it is about time,” said West New York designer Cid Mendez. “Every other town around here has had arts and music festivals. West New York is a little late coming, but, nevertheless, we’re happy to be here and participate.”
He added, “This is part of creating culture in a town. This is part of the fabric, the social fabric of every town, every city, in every part of the world. There are artists everywhere. We need to have a place and a time where we can sit down and create this kind of dialogue, human dialogue that we are having here, and celebrate life.”
“My favorite part is the art, the communication of the people,” said Union City artist Jesus Rivera. “This is excellent.”
The residents who viewed the art agreed.
“I think it is a great start,” said Nora Crespo, a former West New York resident who now works for the Board of Education. “It’s a great beginning. It certainly has a lot of different facets for different folks, so I have heard only positive things. People really like it.”
“I think it’s great for the community here,” said Margarita Guzman, a local resident. “We need that every year, because we don’t have too many places to go, so here is a nice place to go with the family and interact with other people in the neighborhood.” She was with three girls who said their favorite part of the festival was the funnel cake.
West New York resident Betty Ferrer, who was with her son Johnluis, said, “I think this is awesome. This is the first time that it ever happened, and I think it is a great idea for the kids.”
Will repeat Rodriguez said the town plans to do the event again.
“I think that as people catch on, it will be a bigger and better event every year,” he said. “The idea is really to have it be a benefit for West New York.”
Rodriguez said the event cost the town very little because corporate sponsors paid for most of it.
“Any proceeds left over from the event will be donated to the town’s Division of Cultural Affairs for future events,” he said.
Rodriguez also said that the event would not have been possible without the cooperation of many town departments.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration of all the different West New York departments, starting with the Police Department, Public Works,” he said. “Every department really has had some type of involvement with this.”