DECATUR COUNTY, GA (WTXL) — The City of Bainbridge is hosting its first Hispanic Heritage Festival this October, marking a cultural milestone for the area's Latino population.
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For some Bainbridge neighbors , access to Hispanic foods and products has not always been easy to find locally. Marisol Magana, a Decatur County native who was born and raised in the area, has family roots that trace back to Zipiajo, a community in Mexico. She said her family sometimes had to leave town to find foods and products connected to their heritage.
"Growing up here, I didn't actually come here into town as much because Bainbridge didn't really have the things that we were looking for like us as a Hispanic family. So we wouldn't have gone into Quincy because they were the ones that offered it," Magana said.
That limited access is one of the reasons local business owner Rudy Cruz decided to open El Changarro, a Hispanic market in Bainbridge. Seasonal farm workers who come to Bainbridge for work from places like Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala played a huge role in Cruz's decision to open the business.
"Make them feel like, you know, they're at home, you know, uh, number one, language, you know, and second, establishment, that what we offer, uh, it could be, uh, just coming in and grab a drink, but they will feel that little love of whatever they can, and the language has to do a lot," Cruz said.
Census data shows Hispanic or Latino people currently make up about 8.2% of Decatur County's population.
That cultural connection — built by community members like Cruz and Magana — is now extending beyond El Changarro, and is at the heart of why Bainbridge is hosting its first Hispanic Heritage Festival.
The festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10th, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Hook and Ladder venue. Attendees can enjoy authentic Hispanic and Latino food, live mariachi music, Latin dance lessons, and more. Organizers said they hope this first festival creates a strong foundation for more opportunities to celebrate the many cultures and traditions represented in the community.
Magana said she hopes the festival opens the door for new possibilities for different cultures to grow and coexist together.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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