International Festival shines brightly in Greenport

The International Festival kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month — Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 — with a parade through the village and ending at St. Agnes R.C. Church in Greenport Sunday.

The first of its kind for both the village and Southold Town, the festival was hosted by the church and organized by Father Piotr Narkiewicz and parishioners Margarito Gonzalez and Edward Moran. The two are also members of the parish’s Spanish Council. They meet monthly to organize various religious celebrations typical in Latin America.

“We wanted to do something without religion; something that has to do with culture,” Mr. Gonzalez said in a phone interview the day after the festival. “It being the first time, [the planning work] paid off,” he said. “We saw many families gather together.”

Photos by Angela Colangelo

Mr. Gonzalez said that festival-goers came from as far away as Brentwood and Hampton Bays. Word spread about it on La Fiesta, an East End Spanish-language radio station out of Westhampton, and on social media.

Southold town officials Brian Mealy and Anne Smith, along with Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi participated by carrying and waving flags in the parade and sampling the food at the festival. “We are proud to represent all our Latinx cultures,” Mr. Mealy said. “I’m proud to be a small part of this, to hold a flag and to have fun. My face hurts from smiling.”

Sonia Spar, the Spanish-speaking community service coordinator for the town of Southold, marched alongside her son, both wearing the yellow, blue and red of her native Colombia. “It’s beautiful to see how the community is organizing and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. We all have contributed to this country, and we can all get along together. People here are from Central America and South America. This is who we are. I am very happy to see this event.”

Mr. Moran underscored the importance of the local Latin American community celebrating its culture and traditions. “It’s our history, it’s our heritage,” he said. “We always have our roots in our hearts. Today is our Independence Day in a lot of the Central American countries. We are far away from our countries, but our countries never leave our hearts. It means a lot.”