HOLYOKE — Holyoke will once again be hosting a four-day celebration, Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke, to showcase a portion of the rich cultural diversity that defines the city of Holyoke.
Starting Thursday, July 31, and ending Sunday, Aug. 3, the cultural extravaganza will feature music, food and dance of some of the cultures that make up the community.
Fiestas Patronales is celebrated in different Hispanic and Latino municipalities all over the world and festivals are put on in honor of the town’s patron saint.
The way people celebrate changes based on where the festival is, which is why Holyoke’s Fiestas Patronales is focused on the city’s rich cultural diversity.
Nueva Esperanza, Inc. is a community development organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the entire Puerto Rican/Afro-Carribean community.
As part of our ongoing efforts to celebrate and preserve Puerto Rican culture, Fiesta Patronales honors a different town in Puerto Rico each year.
This year, the event will recognize Comerío, a town rich in history and heritage. Founded on June 12, 1826, Comerío was originally known as Sabana del Palmar, Palm Savannah, due to its abundance of palm trees.
In 1894, the City Council successfully petitioned the Spanish Crown to rename the town Comerío, in honor of the Indigenous Cacique Comerío, who once inhabited the region.
Fiesta Patronales de Holyoke Director Melvin Sanchez said that Comerío Mayor Irvin Rivera Gonzalez will be at the event to receive an award of recognition on behalf of the city of Holyoke.
Earlier this year, Sanchez and Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia traveled to Comerío to meet with Gonzalez and invited them to Fiesta Patronales de Holyoke.
“The purpose of recognizing these different cities and towns in Puerto Rico is really to connect the citizens that are living here locally, in Western Massachusetts, back to the island and letting them know that their roots of the towns that they come from are experience here in Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts because we have such a big Puerto Rican community in the area,” Sanchez explained.
Holyoke is home to the first Puerto Rican Cultural District in Massachusetts and only the second in the nation. This designation is the result of years of dedication and collaboration between the city of Holyoke, Nueva Esperanza and partners across the state.
This annual event continues to grow, bringing together the community to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Holyoke and Western Massachusetts.
Sanchez shared the organization estimates over the first three years of Fiestas Patronales, the event has been able to bring in on average around 30,000 people to 40,000 people over the four-day weekend.
The organization has a lot of pride in the formation of this event as it has become touted as the largest Latino event in Western Massachusetts.
“It’s been a huge success in terms of our ability to bring in a community show that’s free to everyone in Western Massachusetts,” Sanchez said, “In Puerto Rico, they have the town festivals that were usually held in the town commons and they would dedicate it to their patron saint. We took that same idea and adapted it to fit Holyoke and Western Massachusetts in terms of having a community festival in the downtown area of Holyoke.”
Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke also announced it will continue the tradition of Miss Fiestas Patronales, which began in 2024 and is now returning for its second year.
This event celebrates young individuals who embody pride, charisma and leadership within the community.
Participants must meet certain eligibility requirements, including: they must fall within the designated age categories, cannot be married or have children, must be a student in a school or college in Holyoke or surrounding areas and can be of any nationality, but must understand and respond in Spanish.
The three age categories are Little Miss, 7-10 years old; Teen Miss, 11-14 years old and Miss, 15-18 years old.
Sanchez wanted to thank all the sponsors of the event including Holyoke Medical Center, Wyckoff Country Club, Winn Companies, Department of Conservation and Recreation as well as state Rep. Patricia Duffy (D-Holyoke.)
To sponsor the event or see the full schedule for the weekend, readers can visit tinyurl.com/32uprys6 or the Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke Facebook page.
