Holyoke is alive with the sounds of the Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke, a four-day festival dedicated to the city’s patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe and featuring a wide variety of musical styles and genres, as well as dancing, very authentic food in a comfortable setting family-friendly next to the Holyoke Children’s Museum on Dwight Street.
Melvis Romero, former Holyoke police officer and now head of security for the festival said Fiestas Patronales are held throughout Latin America and especially in Puerto Rico.
“This is a long-held legacy. It’s been coming to Puerto Rico for years and years. Every city would have them every year and people from other cities would come to celebrate in the square,” he said. “Music is for everybody. You can like orange, or you can like salsa or typical music .
Romero described “musica tipica” as early Spanish-influenced music from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The city has long held family-oriented cultural celebrations, Romero said, known as Hispanic Family Festivals. They were suspended about five years ago, he said. When it came time to revive the festivals, a younger group wanted to change the focus to embrace the island’s heritage and the Fiestas Patronales.
The change in philosophy comes as the city has elected its first Puerto Rican mayor, who leads a growing new Hispanic cadre of businessmen in the city.
Mayor Joshua Garcia said celebrating diversity has long been an attribute of Holyoke.
Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, left, enjoys the festivities with his son Ethan, wife Stefany and daughter Allison at the city’s Fietas Patronales de Holyoke on Saturday.
“Holyoke has always embraced different cultures,” he said Saturday as he and his family enjoyed the music. “In every corner of the city we have a lot of diversity. When we embrace people’s cultures and traditions, it helps to build pride in our community. What unites us is being Holyokers. The Irish community, the Puerto Rican community, the Polish community – we celebrate all cultures and come together as Holyokers.
The Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke began Thursday night with musical performances on the main stage set up on Dwight Street near City Hall and will continue through Sunday.
Romero said food trucks strategically parked around the festival grounds offer authentic Puerto Rican cuisine at extremely modest prices, he said.
Part of the festival is also a car show that highlights the work of local owners. Co-organizer Justin Sanchez said the show is designed to give local owners a chance to show off their hard work.
Almost everything, from the fenders to the engine, on these cars is custom Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke featured a car show.
“There are no special criteria to judge,” he said. “We will look for creativity in your work. Don’t go out and buy a Lamborghini and expect to win here. You can buy anything pre-made. We want to see your work.”
The 40 to 50 cars lined up along the closed Dwight Road were mostly mid-priced Toyotas or Nissans, with the occasional Honda thrown in.
“That’s what we want to see,” Sanchez said. “We want someone to build their own car and do all the hard work.”
