By Cecilia Nasmith

In one way, it's unfortunate that the third annual Northumberland Hispanic Heritage Month Festival in October had to go all-virtual.

On the other hand, event director Emilio Ojeda said, “because of that, we had a wider and broader audience beyond the members of the club.”

For example, their on-line workshop on HUICHOL-style yarn method (a traditional paint method used by the Huichol natives of Sierra Madre in Mexico), local participants were joined by those from Venezuela, Chile, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Ojeda recently shared some highlights of the festival, which covers the gamut from art to movies and music.

Organized in partnership with Trent University (with a grant from the Spanish Film Club PRAGDA), the festival opened with the film Primas (“Cousins”) from Canadian-Argentine filmmaker Laura Bari. Emilio described it as a heartfelt story of two cousins growing up together and overcoming heinous acts of violence that marked their childhood.

Other internationally acclaimed and award-winning films that rounded out the bill included Guie'dani's Navel, The Awakening of the Ants and The Infiltrators (which showed the reality of woman empowerment and immigration from a US perspective).

Ojeda also singled out Perfect Strangers (“an electrifying Mexican comedy about a seemingly simple dinner party) and the documentary Miguelito. This one tells the story of an 11-year-old Puerto Rican boy who went from fame – recording an album with the finest salsa musicians of his time, performing with Eddie Palmieri at Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 fans - to a complete disappearance from public life.

Then there was the Noche Latina virtual party, a live interactive event - “two hours of music, dance and learning with our Carla Gonzalez and her LatinTrain and DJ Alexis Barria,” Ojeda said.

Carla Gonzalez and her LatinTrain were also part of the virtual concert Melodias del Corazon (Melodies from the Heart), which showcased both local talent and beautiful Northumberland sites, with the great voices of Rosa Orteta and Fabian Arciniegas also making up part of the program.

The heritage-and-art exhibition this year was Our Voyage: Family Bonds and Belonging, with artifacts, art and stories shared by members of the local community that show a strong link to their cultures, family and friends that were part of their journey to Canada.

“It was different, it was challenging, but I am really happy with the results,” Ojeda declared.

While all forecasts seem to point to a less-dangerous October 2021 on the COVID-19 front for the fourth annual festival, the opportunity to reach people around the world was such a wonderful surprise that he is foreseeing a mix of virtual and in-person events for the fourth annual festival next year.

The big party that is one focus of the festival, for example, can be an event that is at the same time in-person and on-line.

“While we have an in-person party, we can also offer a virtual party for the rest of the world,” he said.

This year's festival sponsors were Northumberland County, Cameco, the Town of Cobourg and the Government of Canada with, as previously noted, Trent University working in partnership.

Emilio also noted an important addition to the board of directors this year, as Ixchel Suarez assumed the position of secretary. A renowned textile artist who recently moved to Trent Hills, she has opened the Oak Heights Art Gallery to present the work of great Canadian artists in addition to her own. The Oak Heights gallery is located at 341 Covert Hill Rd. in Warkworth, next to the Villa Conti Italian Restaurant and Vinery.

The Northumberland Hispanic Heritage Month Festival is always accompanied by an awareness-raising presentation to Northumberland County council, who obligingly declare October Hispanic Heritage Month – and did so for 2020.

Credit for the organizing goes to the Northumberland Hispanic Culture Club – which Ojeda pointed out is always open to new members.