Decatur, GA — The Placita Latina Festival will be held from Sept. 15 through Oct. 30 with a variety of events taking place in Decatur to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

“After last year’s successful inaugural event, we decided to come together to make the events bigger and better,” organizer Christy Amador said.

Hispanic Heritage Month was created to promote the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic-Americans from over 30 countries and territories that make up Latin America. The Placita Latina organizers saw an opportunity to bring these rich and diverse cultures to Decatur with performances, food, art, and culture, according to a press release.

“We know that DeKalb County, and Georgia, overall, has a vibrant Latinx community, and we wanted to create awareness for, and celebrate the community during, and after, Hispanic Heritage week once again,” Amador told Decaturish.

Here are the events happening during the Placita Latina Festival:

– The Salsa on the Square and La Choloteca dance party will be held on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 6-10:30 p.m. on the Decatur Square. The events will feature Latinx vendors serving food and drinks, and a marketplace.

Businesses and nonprofits can still apply and reserve a spot as a vendor at Salsa on the Square.

– “Celebrating Our Collective Culture” is a Latinx artists showcase. The works will be shown at the Decatur Visitors Center, located at 113 Clairemont Ave., beginning Monday, Sept. 19, with a closing event on Friday, Oct. 14, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. The show is in partnership with the Decatur Arts Alliance.

– Haints and Saints / Day of the Dead Parade will take place on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. This colorful parade is a collaboration between Placita Latina and Decatur’s Halloween themed parade,“Haints and Saints.” This year the event will include giant Katrina “puppets”, music, and other Dias De Los Muertos elements. The parade is planned to begin at the Decatur Cemetery, 229 Bell Street, and end at the Decatur Square.

Amador added that the festival organizers couldn’t resist the opportunity to celebrate the Day of the Dead by partnering with Decatur’s Halloween parade.

“Even though the timing of Dia de los Muertos, [which is] Nov. 1 and 2, is a couple of weeks beyond the parameters of Hispanic Heritage month, we wanted to add the culture, color and fun to the entire Placita Latina series,” Amador said.

While this year’s events are primarily in Decatur, Placita Latina’s partner, Comunidad Connect will host a fundraising event at the Lost Druid Brewery in Avondale Estates on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 7-10 p.m. Communidad Connect is a non-profit that works to alleviate poverty and create sustainable change in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

In addition to the events, over 20 local businesses are partnering with Placita Latina to include Latinx-inspired specials, such as cocktails, dishes and merchandise, as part of their offering during the festival.

Specials include:

– BBQ Cafe will have tres leches ice cream available from Sept. 15 through Oct 30.

– Pisco sour cocktail at Calle Latina from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

– Latin American inspired art and gifts at Homegrown Decatur from Sept. 15 through Oct. 30.

– Conchas pastries at La Chiquiada will be offered from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

– The Lost Druid will offer Latin American inspired craft beers from Sept. 15 through Oct. 30.

– Mezcalito’s Cantina will serve a Latin American inspired cocktail from Sept. 15 through Oct. 30.

For more information about the Placita Latina Festival, click here.

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