In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage month, San Mateo is hosting a couple of free events this weekend that spotlight food, art, music and dance from Guatemala specifically.
The festivities begin on Saturday, Sept. 15, which also happens to be Guatemalan Independence Day. A festival at City Hall kicks off at 5 p.m. and features traditional Guatemalan food, live marimba music, a ballet folklorico performance plus an exhibition of paintings and textiles by indigenous Mayan artists from Guatemala, a couple of whom will be flying in for the event. The art exhibit will run through Sept. 21.
Also, the North B Street Fiesta returns for its second year on Sunday, Sept. 16, and brings together merchants from a variety of Latin American countries. There will also be live mariachi performances, Aztec dancers, ballet folklorico and more. It runs from noon to 5 p.m.
An example of the Guatemalan art that will be on display at San Mateo City Hall.
The Guatemalan festival is co-hosted by the Consulate General of Guatemala in San Francisco and is being held not long after the country experienced a devastating eruption of Fuego Volcano on June 3.
“The city of San Mateo and consulate are joining to celebrate the Independence Day of Guatemala with the aim of also seeking to cheer and uplift the spirit of the local Guatemalan community after all we have been going through in Guatemala in the last year,” Guatemalan Consul General Patricia Lavagnino Spinola said in a press release.
San Mateo County is home to about 7,000 Guatemalan immigrants and many of them live in the city of San Mateo, according to the release.
“Immigration issues are also affecting folks locally and the idea is to show solidarity for this community and its rich culture,” said Casia Ravi, management analyst for San Mateo.
The art exhibit includes 20 to 40 paintings and about 10 textiles on loan from a local collector. The garments are typical to indigenous communities in Guatemala and other parts of Latin America.
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“They’re treasured like Persian rugs, very fine work,” Ravi said, adding that they are examples of a very labor-intensive style of weaving called back loom weaving.
The garments will be displayed on mannequins and juxtaposed with paintings in which similar traditional clothing is portrayed.
The featured painters are “highly lauded” members of a co-op in Guatemala called the Comite Nacional Probecas Mayas, CONAM, which represents indigenous artists and promotes Mayan culture abroad.
During Saturday’s festival, the San Mateo-based group, Proyeccion Folklorica Guatemalteca Xelaju, will perform traditional Guatemalan folk dances. One might recognize them from other Bay Area festivals, including Carnaval in San Francisco.
San Pablo-based Palacio Latino Restaurant and Bakery will donate most of the food for the festival.
“The city is really excited about the opportunity,” Ravi said. “The event is a way to celebrate local diversity, it’s open to everyone and it celebrates Guatemalan culture, but we hope it’s something the whole community enjoys and participates in.”
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