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The Festival Latino Performances Featured in The Berkshire Edge

Festival_Adm — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 14:08:24 +0000

The Festival Latino Performances Featured in The Berkshire Edge

We are deeply grateful to The Berkshire Edge for their presence at The Festival Latino of the Berkshires 2025 and for their recent publication of the video coverage featuring the vibrant performances presented during the event.

Their commitment to sharing cultural moments like these helps to strengthen community ties and celebrate the rich diversity of our region. The publication of these videos allows us to revisit and share the energy, talent, and spirit of the Festival with a wider audience, especially those who were unable to attend in person.

Thank you, Berkshire Edge, for supporting the arts and for helping us highlight the importance of cultural heritage through your coverage.

Catch highlights from the Festival – just click to see the video!

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The Festival Latino of the Berkshires 2025 – We Did It!

Festival_Adm — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 03:56:59 +0000

The Festival Latino of the Berkshires 2025 – We Did It!

As it does every year, the Festival Latino of The Berkshires brought a vibrant display of Latin American culture to our community. With outstanding artists, colorful traditional dances, and lively music, the event once again highlighted the richness of our heritage.

As always, the joy, enthusiasm, and passion of our Latino community filled the entire festival. We are especially proud of the children in our local community, who beautifully represented their countries of origin —a heartwarming representation of our dedication to passing on the richness of Latin culture from generation to generation.

This year’s festival was no exception, delivering high-quality performances and a warm, welcoming atmosphere that left a lasting impression on all who attended. Thank you for joining us! Stay tuned for our upcoming posts, where we’ll share more highlights and behind-the-scenes moments from the event.

And if you missed this incredible celebration of Hispanic Heritage — mark your calendar now for next year’s event: Saturday, September 26, 2026. Let’s come together once again to celebrate our culture, our music, and our joy.

Our culture will not be silenced, and our joy will not be taken from us!

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Berkshire Edge Highlights the Festival Latino of the Berkshires!

Festival_Adm — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:41:02 +0000

Berkshire Edge Highlights the Festival Latino of the Berkshires!

We are excited to share that the Berkshire Edge has featured the upcoming The Festival Latino of the Berkshires, shining a spotlight on this special community celebration. The Festival will take place on Saturday, September 27th, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm at the Great Barrington Town Hall.

This year’s Festival is an opportunity to come together to celebrate Latino culture, heritage, and community spirit. With music, dance, traditional food, and activities for all ages, the Festival continues to be a joyful gathering that unites families, neighbors, and friends from across the Berkshires.

We are grateful to the Berkshire Edge for helping us spread the word and for recognizing the importance of cultural events that bring our community closer together.

We invite everyone to join us in honoring and celebrating the richness of Latino heritage. Mark your calendars, and don’t miss the Latino Festival of the Berkshires on September 27th in Great Barrington!

Festival Latino to return to Great Barrington on Sept. 27 – The Berkshire Edge

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Catch us on News Channel 13! Festival Latino of the Berkshires Invites You to Celebrate on Sept. 27

Festival_Adm — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:08:34 +0000

Catch us on News Channel 13! Festival Latino of the Berkshires Invites You to Celebrate on Sept. 27

The Festival of the Berkshires was invited to NEWS CHANNEL 13 to share with the audience our story, our mission, and our pride in being part of the Berkshires community, which has always supported the Festival. We also extended an invitation to join us at this year’s Festival on September 27th at the Great Barrington Town Hall from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Don’t miss the details of the interview!

Festival Latino of the Berkshires set for Saturday – WNYT.com NewsChannel 13

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Festival Latino 2025: Where the Berkshires Celebrate the Spirit of Latin America

Festival_Adm — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 01:31:42 +0000

Festival Latino 2025: Where the Berkshires Celebrate the Spirit of Latin America

Get ready to immerse yourself in a vibrant celebration of Latino culture at the upcoming Festival Latino of the Berkshires! As we eagerly step into our 29th year, the heart of Great Barrington will come alive with the rhythmic beats of Latin music, the swirl of colorful skirts, and the aroma of delicious cuisines. On September 27th, from 2p.m. to 6 p.m., we invite you to join us behind Great Barrington Town Hall and at Saint James Place for an unforgettable experience.

Under the passionate leadership of Angela Palmer, the daughter of our festival’s dedicated founders Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez, German Bermudez, and Doris Orellana, this year promises to be bigger and more captivating than ever. Our festival, a true labor of love, embraces the essence of Latin American heritage. From enchanting folkloric performances to mouthwatering regional delicacies, we are curating a kaleidoscope of activities to indulge your senses.

The festivities kick off at 2:00 pm with an exciting lineup of Latin American dancers, musicians, and food vendors. This year, TUMBAGA, the Colombian Dance Company of New York founded by Armando Moreno, will showcase the beauty of Colombian heritage and folklore through music and dance at Saint James Place. Meanwhile, Herencia Cultural Mexicana, a vibrant dance troupe, will perform at the Great Barrington Town Hall Green Park. Adding to the celebration the live music from Pulso de Barro, a Latin Mesoamerican folk band from Kingston, NY, and Alessandra Gonzalez, a talented Latin music singer and composer from New York, performing throughout the afternoon.

And that’s not all! In the spirit of inclusivity, we are hosting a ‘Niños de las Americas’ parade, encouraging local children to embrace their diverse backgrounds. With costumes available for borrowing, this parade promises to be a delightful display of cultural unity and joy.

Indulge in Festival Latino’s incredible flavors and lively atmosphere, where delicious tacos take your taste buds on a journey!

It’s a space of joy, unity, and diverse cultural expressions where the community comes together

Musical groups and dancers from different Latin American countries are the main highlight of the celebration!

As the sun sets, the celebration continues at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center with Rumba Mahaiwe—featuring salsa lessons followed by Fiesta Latina, the perfect way to keep the party going!

Mark your calendars, gather your friends and family, and join us on September 27th for a day full of laughter, dancing, live music, and delicious food. The Festival Latino of the Berkshires is more than just an event—it’s an experience, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

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Gracias Gathering Event

Festival_Adm — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 04:47:08 +0000

Gracias Gathering Event

The past June 22nd, 2023, The Festival Latino of the Berkshires celebrated the “Gracias – Gathering” event in honor of all who has been part of the Festival. Donors, voluntiers, and supporters

Gracias – Thank You!

For all who attended the 1st appreciation ceremony honoring all donors, supporters and volunteers over the past 28 years.

It was an evening bursting with gratitude, love, and memories. A way for the Festival Latino to say “Gracias” for the time, money and passion that has evolved the Festival in what it is today.

Very emotional moments were experienced when Angela Palmer, as the new President of the Festival Latino thanked each of the people who have helped the Festival get to where it is today. As part of the presentation she showed how the Latino Festival of the Berkshires has evolved from its beginnings until today, its passage from Lee to Great Barrington, and each of the people who have contributed to bring the Festival to life each September with their joy, folklore and performance of the Latino culture.

The event organizing team (from right to left) Bill Basinait, Angela Palmer, Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez, Andres Bermudez, Sandra Rodriguez and Gladis Rave.

The team of volunteers (from right to left) Carolina Ardila, Gabriela Bautista, Luz Marina Molina, Tatiana Maldonado e Ivanna Aguilar.

Luis Panche, from the Aboé Group from Colombia, enlivened the evening with typical Latin music that conquered the ears of those present.

Here are photos of some of the donors, supporters and volunteers who attended the event.

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Angela Palmer is the new President of the Festival Latino of the Berkshires

Festival_Adm — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 16:31:12 +0000

Angela Palmer is the new President of the Festival Latino of the Berkshires

The Festival Latino of the Berkshires is happy to announce that Angela Palmer has assumed the position of President.

Starting back in 1995 founder, and past president, Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez has led the organization by promoting Latin culture and Hispanic Heritage Month to all of Berkshire County. During those 28 years, Liliana has grown the festival with the support of its loyal donors, the Berkshire education community, and tremendous help from volunteers.

Liliana is proud to transition the leadership role to an individual who has been a lifetime supporter and a volunteer since childhood. Angela has assisted at various levels with the Festival Latino of the Berkshires, as well as performed at the festival as a singer and dancer. Angela hopes to provide a new era of perspective and organization to the renowned event and organization.

All of us are excited to see what is to come!

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Festival Latino of the Berkshires awared for service to the immigrant community!

Festival_Adm — Sat, 06 May 2023 02:55:12 +0000

Festival Latino of the Berkshires awarded for service to the immigrant community!

Past April 23, 2023, in the Hevreh of South Berkshires in Great Barrington was celebrated the “Berkshire Recognition Awards Ceremony”. The Festival Latino of the Berkshires and our Founder and President, Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez, were awarded for their service to the immigrant community.

Among the honorees were leaders and organizations that are supporting the Latino community throughout the years in the Berkshires. To select the honorees, the Recognition Ceremony Committee sent a survey to many members of the immigrant community. They chose 21 organizations and 49 leaders who have been working hard in different areas to support the immigrant community and make them feel welcome in this community as their new home.

“Thank you to Berkshire Recognition Awards Ceremony
Group.
The Festival Latino of the Berkshires thanks all the people who, since the beginning believe in the idea to promote and keep Latin Culture alive. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered their time, working very hard for uncountable hours over the years and supporting the Festival Latino throughout the journey. Together we will continuing to do the best for are Latino Community in the Berkshires.
Great things are still to come !” -Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez, Founder of Festival Latino of the Berkshires.

We are happy that the Latino community of the Berkshires recognizes the contribution that the Latino Festival of the Berkshires has made for over 28 years to keep the roots of our culture alive in Berkshire County.

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The First Nativity Scene Contest!

Festival_Adm — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 06:14:02 +0000

First Nativity Scene Contest !

On December 13, 2022, The Latino Festival of the Berkshires, in partnership with Hispanics in Berkshires County, launched the first Christmas nativity scene, novenas and posadas contest. Six families joined this event with their creativity, love for traditions and community, opening the doors of their homes to share their culture and Christmas traditions.

Where did the Nativity Scene come from?

Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first live nativity scene in 1223 in order to cultivate the worship of Christ. He himself had recently been inspired by his visit to the Holy Land, where he’d been shown Jesus’s traditional birthplace. (1)

In Latin America countries locals decorate houses and children sing at each one until invited to a Posada party on Christmas Eve. You’ll see a huge number of nativity scenes, sometimes with lifesize figures. Mexico is also big on Epiphany on 6 January – tuck into a Rosca de Reyes or Three Kings Cake to find the hidden Jesus figurine.

In Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela the novena de aguinaldos is celebrated from December 16th to 24th. The event includes the singing of Christmas carols and the sharing of traditional Christmas snack.

Who were the Nativity Scene participants?

Jaime and Leonor from Colombia

They took 1 day to design and made their Nativity Scene using 100% recycled materials. The sheep are made of cotton, the houses are made of cardboard and toilet paper rolls, the rivers are made of aluminum, and the facades of the house are made of eggshells, roofs of the house have coffee. Moss, stones and even the trunks were brought from the street along with the large pine branch, in addition it has tarps and craft paper. Also, they made the novena with their family and tasted some delicious empanadas with homemade oatmeal.

Luz Maria Cambi from Ecuador

She used her natural plants in a 90% of her nativity scene. She brought the moss from the street along with some little doors. The branches that make the hut are pine branches, that day the whole house smelled like pine. In her novena she focused on Santa Claus and told the guests about his story. Thanks to Saint Nicholas she understood many things that happen at Christmas, she shared a novena similar the one in Colombia with her family and they tasted some delicious Ecuadorian empanadas, lemonade, rice and exquisite sweaty chicken.

Mari Carmen from Mexico

She loves nativity scenes and says that she has been collecting all the nativity scenes she has throughout her life, “she has quite a few”, it is not an assembled nativity scene as such but several small nativity scenes, the last one she brought from her hometown.

She explained us that in Mexico they used to do “posadas”. In the posadas a group that was outside asking the people to let them in because Jesus is about to be born and the group that is into answered as an innkeeper that is not place for them. At the end of each posada, they break a piñata full of candies for the children. She was with her little family and that night they tasted delicious tacos, Mexican tamales, punch and there were plenty of candies.

Claudia Villamil from Colombia

Claudia, her husband and daughter say that they took 5 hours to assemble the nativity scene. They collected stones, logs, branches and moss from the street, used craft paper and supported it with shelves from behind and designed it as if it were a steep mountain.

They made the novena with his family and made a contest of singing villancicos women versus men, and obviously the women won, the children were the jurors. At the end we tasted something traditional in their country, a delicious rice pudding, fritters, coconut custard and arequipe custard.

Carolina Ardila from Colombia

She decided to participate and borrowed this space to share her novena with the community and some families from Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Panama. The Nativity scene was made by these families and lasted 1 day, it is made of materials that they made themselves, moss that they brought from the street, sawdust, a box of fruit, craf paper, tissue paper, stones that they got on the street.

In addition, some beautiful children who decided to do the dramatization of the Angel, Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus the Nativity scene was performed. The novena was held with several families and tasted some delicious miniponques, cookies, red wine and aguadepanela.

Monica from Ecuador

She made her nativity scene every year for the novena and sharing time with her family. The Nativity Scene was made of a synthetic mat but at the top she has a part with grass that came from her garden. Most of her dolls are made of wood and she has been collecting them over the years.
We hold the novena with her little family and friends. It was a very digital novena, everything was on YouTube and that night we tasted a delicious Ecuadorian chocolate with sandwich.

The Latino Festival of the Berkshires appreciates the time and effort that each of these families took to make this event possible. We hope in 2023 to count on the participation of more families in the second version of this contest.

The contest winners!!

In the first version of the contest, the restaurant “La Fogata” was our main sponsor. Thanks to this, the event had three winners in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The judge was Natalia Beruzzio from Voluntiers In Medicine (VIM), who detailed the award criteria in the facebook life of awards on December 23rd.

First place went to Claudia Villamil who, according to the judges, met all the requirements established in the call for entries: a beautiful nativity scene, community and family gathering and a novel novena.

Carolina Ardila came in second place. The jury highlighted the union of the community with families from several countries to elaborate their nativity scene and make the novena and the participation of the children who will be in the future those who will maintain these traditions.

The third place went to Luz Maria Cambi, who was valued for her effort in the elaboration of the nativity scene and the family union for her novena.

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Congratulations Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez for the Latino Excellence Award

Festival_Adm — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 21:37:28 +0000

Congratulations Liliana Ortiz-Bermudez for the Latino Excellence Award

All of us at Festival Latino of the Berkshire are elated to Congratulate to our Founder and President, Liliana Ortiz Bermudez for being recognized by The Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus with The Latino Excellence Award from the 4th Berkshire District. In an interview with The Berkshire Eagle on November 22nd, 2022, she told about the award, the future plans for the Festival Latino of the Berkshires and her dream to build a center for Latin American arts to keep our Latino culture alive.

To see the entire interview, click in the link.

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/liliana-ortiz-bermudez-the-founder-of-the-festival-latino-of-the-berkshires- wants-to-open-a-latin-american-center-for-the-arts/article_d13cd9b8-66d7-11ed-99b0-0b46921856d8.html

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