.jpg)
Fast-paced music filled downtown as the ninth annual Fiesta Cultural began alongside the monthly First Friday ArtWalk on Sept. 1. Crowds convened on the Famer’s Market Pavilion and nearby galleries to experience Latino culture and work by local artists. According to some of the hundreds of attendees, events like these are helping to revitalize downtown through the community.
​
The festivities began at 5:30 p.m. as people trickled into the pavilion. Attendees stopped to grab maps for the self-guided tour of downtown galleries and shops. While some left for the art walk, others crowded around the band stage and wooden dance floor.
​
Angel Quintero Hernandez, a local dancer dressed in a gold and black jacket, greeted spectators, opening the event with a mix of modern Latin dances. This was his first year performing at Fiesta Cultural. “I like the community and bringing more people into understanding Latin culture,” said Hernandez. “Just uniting people through dance.”
​
Moving inside the pavilion, Latinx artists were selling their work. Everything from paintings to jewelry were on display. Paz Méndez, a printmaker who hand-carves his pieces, said he wanted to “meet some new friends, sell some art and hear some good music.”
​
The music and dancing outside continued on after sunset. The routines with swishing dresses and tight footwork made way for the audience to test their own moves. The dance floor filled up by the end of the night, with people dancing as the band played under sharp blue and purple lights.
​
Kaita Burke, who came down for both Fiesta Cultural and the ArtWalk, thinks that both play a big role in the community. “It’s one of the reasons that I really enjoy living in Eugene,” said Burke. “There’s a lot of different opportunities to learn about different people and to engage in the community.”
​
Jessica Watson has coordinated the art walk since 2008. She said that these events help the community to “experience the art, hear from the artists directly and break that barrier.”
​
“At this point we have good amounts of people coming out,” said Watson, who thinks that the event has been on the rebound since COVID-19 slashed participation. “We definitely have some new interest this year.”
​
Public arts projects like these help the community in many ways, according to Summer Young-Jelinek, chair for the Springfield Arts Commision.
​
“I think the arts are important to every community,” said Young-Jelinek. “They’re an economic driver, especially in terms of tourism.”
​
Walking west from the pavilion and further into downtown, many of the galleries along the route had people packed in. People stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the Karin Clarke Gallery on Willamette, nibbling on crackers as they took in paintings by artists such as Ron Conrad and Jud Turner.
​
Shifting south, Epic Seconds featured “Wearables” by Helen Liu, a set of figures which looked out over the store from the second-floor gallery.
​
“It’s gone really well,” said Epic Seconds owner Benjamin Terrell. “In fact I think it’s been one of the best ones yet.”
​
The feeling was the same a block over at the New Zone Gallery. The attendees mingled and drank $5 beer as they walked amongst dozens of paintings, sculptures and a single techno fur suit.
​
“An hour in, this place was packed,” said Steve LaRiccia, the gallery coordinator. “It got hot in here.”
​
The steady stream of people walking through downtown were more than the streets see on an average Friday. People feel that downtown Eugene is unsafe and has too many homeless people, according to a 2023 survey.
​
“I know people who don’t feel safe coming down other times of the year feel safe during the art walk,” said Watson. “There’s safety in numbers.”
​
Nyx Veliz, a volunteer with A Family for Every Child, said that downtown benefits from the exposure. “It’s a bit of life breathed into this little area of Eugene,” said Veliz. “It gets people talking for weeks after.”
​
While the art walk will wait for a month to return, Fiesta Cultural will continue. Events will continue on into Dec. Visit Lane Arts Council to learn about upcoming events.