ABOUT

The mission is to strengthen the voice of immigrant and refugee central Americans through reclaiming and affirming cultural and linguistic identities by providing a festival that unites the Central American communities and celebrate their contributions to Seattle. Through Festival Centroamericano, we embrace our diverse heritage, educate youth and the public by showcasing the art, music, dance and food from various cultures within the seven Central American countries. Festival Centroamericano is a non-profit organization that was founded in June of 2015 with the goal of uniting the Central American community to create Seattle’s first Central American festival. The festival showcases the music, art and culture of the Central American diaspora. Often times, the vibrant cultures of Central America have been overlooked by the dominant culture of the greater Seattle Area. Central Americans are sometimes mistaken as being Mexican or South American. As Central Americans, we have our own unique linguistic and cultural expressions as well as varied ethnic and cultural groups with Indigenous, African, Mestizo, and Latino roots. Historically, some of these groups have not interacted or collaborated well with each other but this festival has been recognized as the first effort to unite Central Americans from all of these ethnic groups to exchange cultures and learn from one another.