Mexican Fiesta 2024 banner
Mexico: the colorful beauty of a country rich in diversity. The celebration of the Mexico culture will take place this August 23-25, noon to midnight, at the Summerfest Grounds. It’s the 50th anniversary of Mexican Fiesta, and all are welcome to enjoy the music, art and food of this colorful Latin American country.
But Mexican Fiesta is more than just a celebration but also a demonstration of community spirit. Mexican Fiesta provides a cultural foundation through history, art and music events for the growing Hispanic community. Education is the key to the future, and through college scholarship awards, the fiesta has become the gateway to young Hispanics taking their place in society with advanced degrees.
Recently, I spoke with the president of Mexican Fiesta, Ruben Burgos, who is a retired police officer, and currently on the teaching faculty in the criminal justice department at UWM. He told me, “Forty-five years ago, I started as a volunteer security guard at Mexican Fiesta, and now as president, I am still volunteering.” As president, Burgos oversees the entire Fiesta operation including financial matters. “I also act as the spokesman,” he said. “The paid staff handle all the details.”
The Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation is the festival’s sponsor. The Foundation has fundraised over $1.8 million in scholarship money in the last 50 years. I asked, “Who receives these scholarships? High school students of Hispanic heritage?”
“This year, we have provided 70 scholarships,” Burgos said. “The only requirement is the students need to attend Wisconsin colleges and that they are at least one-quarter percent of Hispanic heritage.”
Promoting Culture
Part of the Mexican Fiesta mission is to promote the arts and crafts of Mexico and other Latin American countries. I asked Burgos how many vendors from Mexico will appear this year and also how many from other Latin American countries.
“We are bringing in close to 150 artisans from northern Mexico, the Caribbean coasts, and also from Texas, California, Oklahoma and the Midwest states.”
When I attended last year’s Fiesta, I stopped to chat with the vendor Andrea Andreo. She was selling hand woven stuffed animals, ponchos for dogs, ceramics and a variety of crafts. “Everything is handmade,” she told me, “but my main business is selling and designing furniture, which I sell at my store in Mexico. It’s my first time here in Milwaukee. I like the music, and I like the people. They seem so happy.”
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The Mexican Fiesta works at promoting the Mexican American customs. “Can you describe the Mexican-American way of life, namely the Hispanic culture?” I said.
“We are family-oriented and dedicated to our roots,” he explained, “and that includes our food, music and arts. We are also patriotic. We want our kids to do better in their future than we have in our past. There are two important parts of Mexican Fiesta. The first is the family participation. I walk through the festival grounds, and I see my aunts, cousins, family I haven’t seen in a while. We are very family-oriented on the South Side. Walk our streets and you see people on their porches talking to each other. We know our neighbors. We love talking. We take care of our grandparents, and they take care of us. It’s all about family in our culture. I grew up on the South Side on 25th and Scott. Went to Notre Dame High School.”
The 2024 Mexican Fiesta has a volunteer force of nearly 1,000 people, including 60 coordinators, along with three full-time staff and a 17-member board of directors. “We have a very dedicated staff,” Burgos said. “They have been working 12-16 hour days since June.”
He reminded me that the Mexican Fiesta honors customs and tradition and encourages individuals from all ethnic backgrounds to share in the beauty of Mexico’s rich history, art, music and food.
To purchase your admission tickets in advance, visit mexicanfiesta.org.
