{"id":220510,"date":"2025-09-12T09:27:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T09:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/220510\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T09:27:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T09:27:55","slug":"nycs-latin-food-fest-is-back-celebrating-culture-and-empowering-hispanic-owned-small-businesses-in-brooklyn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/220510\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC\u2019S Latin Food Fest is back: Celebrating culture and empowering Hispanic-owned small businesses in Brooklyn"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"NYC's\t\t\t<\/p>\n

NYC\u2019s Latin Food Fest returns to Brooklyn this weekend!<\/p>\n

Photos by Marco Shalma<\/p>\n

The Latin Food Fest returns to Brooklyn\u2019s Industry City this weekend, Sept. 13-14, from noon to 7 p.m.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The two-day event will feature more than 70 Hispanic-owned small businesses along with 14 major performances, art installations and other activities.\n<\/p>\n

Visitors will find five stages where they can eat, dance and enjoy activities such as a Bad Bunny look-alike contest, an empanada contest, and more. \u201cThe idea of Latin Food Fest is a celebration of food: \u201c\u2019la comida y cultura,\u2019\u201d said Marco Shalma, owner and founder of Latin Food Fest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The festival provides a major platform for small business vendors. Melissa Pacheco, owner of Boriken Bites NYC<\/a>, a Harlem-based Puerto Rican desserts business, started her business a year ago, and this opportunity is her biggest yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are bringing out full ways to really represent our culture, represent Puerto Rico, represent New York, represent what that meant to me and my family,\u201d Pacheco said.<\/p>\n

The event will provide food from across Latin America, from Mexican beef tacos to Peruvian ceviche, prepared by Patricia Quinteros, owner of Henko Seafood.<\/a> This will allow her to show the hard work behind her business and connect with the community through food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The two-day event will feature more than 70 Hispanic-owned small businesses and live performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cSharing Hispanic culture is so important because food carries memory, history, and love. When I cook, I\u2019m not only preparing a dish, I\u2019m sharing a piece of my roots and the traditions that shaped me,\u201d Quinteros said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shalma\u2019s vision for this event is to show that Latin America is not defined by a single culture, but by a diverse region united by a passion for food, family, and community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The festival celebrates cultural diversity while also supporting entrepreneurs. Marco Shalma, founder of Latin Food Fest, and his team created The Street Eat Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports up-and-coming immigrant-owned businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, Shalma expanded his vision by launching the \u201cWe Feed America\u201d campaign to profit from, invest in, and donate to legal aid organizations that support the immigrant community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the ones working in the field, working in transportation, working in distribution. We work in the manufacturing and cooking of the food, and that\u2019s what we do. Those are the people who actually feed America and continue to feed and grow to feed America,\u201d Shalma said.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be purchased at the event or in advance through thelatinfoodfest.com<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

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