Farm 255 will host restaurants representing South American cuisine from countries such as Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. FILE/The Red & Black.
Taste of the Americas is immersing more than mouths in Latin American culture.
The event will showcase Latin food, music and dancing. Several Central and South American countries will be represented at the culinary level. La Parrilla, Agua Linda, Las Conchitas Caliente, Cali N Tito’s, Señor Sol, Tlaloc El Mexicano and Picante’s will represent a wide range of cultures, including Mexican, Venezuelan, Salvadorian, Dominican and Puerto Rican.
“It’s nice to combine food with showcasing Latino culture,” said Terry Salguero, a board member for the Athens Latino Center for Education and Services. “People really enjoy it all.”
The function acts as a fundraiser for ALCES, an organization that Salguero said is constantly working to preserve Latino culture and incorporate it into an eclectic Athens.
“When you go to a place and see that there is always something going on,” Salguero said. “You know that they’re really serving the community.”
A similar Taste of the Americas event was put on in 2011 to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. An estimated 300 people showed up to take a Central and South American trip via taste bud.
“After last year, we knew we were going to do it again,” Salguero said.
This year, the chosen venue has changed to Farm 255, due to the restaurant’s outdoor stage and more spacious interior.
Such a stage will be useful for the variety of shows scheduled. Ballet, flamenco, tango and salsa dances will be performed, while bands like Incatepec bring Latin jazz and marimba music to the table.
“I think just to experience another culture,” Salguero said, “the dancing, the music—it’s very inspiring to see other cultures, and they all have their own kind of moods that they evoke … It will broaden your horizons a little bit.”
A sampling of Latino crafts will also be available for purchase. Casa de Cultura, a group of pottery craftswomen, will be selling their wares at the event to give attendees a shard of culture to carry home.
In addition, many participants will be dressed to impress with authentic Central and South American attire.
Salguero said that it is important for the community to support its Latino population at a time when legislation has been less than friendly toward immigrants.
“It’s good that people are supporting this because these have been kind of hard times,” she said.
TASTE OF THE AMERICAS
WHERE: Farm 255
WHEN: Tonight at 5
Cost: $3 – 10