Dozens of vendors, colorful displays draw hundreds to Hola Fest

YOUNGSTOWN — Amid the large variety of aprons, hats, wallets, coffee mugs, clothing and blankets she was selling, Maricela Daza Manejadora found herself wrapped in a blanket of color and culture.

“I go to a lot of events. I tried to get a lot of colors for the festivals,” Daza Manejadora of Cleveland, who runs a business called Latin Minga, said through an interpreter.

When it came to sheer bright, cheerful colors, Daza Manejadora was a long way from falling short. That’s because she had such a display under her tent as one of the vendors for the second annual Hola Fest Youngstown gathering Saturday afternoon and evening in Wean Park, downtown.

Sponsoring the free, nine-hour family-friendly event was QUICKmed Urgent Care.

Daza Mandjadora’s business was borne out of tragedy and is in honor of her son, Domingo Abarzua, 5, who was severely burned but survived a house fire in November 2019 in the Youngstown area. For his resilience and strength in undergoing months of treatments that included nine surgeries, his mother dubbed Domingo a “miracle baby.”

More than 50 vendors filled the downtown park for the fest, the main thrust of which was to celebrate and promote Spanish traditions, culture, foods, history and beliefs, Lisette Encarnacion, a Hola Fest committee member, noted.

It also was, of course, a daylong opportunity for attendees to connect with one another and enjoy the end-of-summer city offering — even though temperatures in the mid-80s and plenty of sun offered no hint of impending autumn.

“I hope people had fun, ate well, danced and enjoyed their peers, and who we are as a culture, which is loving and family-oriented,” Encarnacion said about the event’s other overarching goal.

Color and culture also were alive and well under Miriam Torres’s tent.

“I try to bring traditional art from around Mexico,” Torres, of Akron, said, adding that many of her homemade items she was selling, such as Lele dolls, traditional kitchenware, Talavera pottery, clothing, heart-shaped patches, sombreros, purses and footwear came from small towns and communities in that country.

Torres runs Pencil and Barro, a business she started about three years ago.

Promoting acceptance and diversity were the abundant and salient themes under Cristina Esparra and Sthephanie Miranda’s tent.

“When we started, we felt we needed to provide a safe space for women to be provided with resources for health and business,” Esparra said, referring to the mission of Culture of Her, a Youngstown business she and Miranda co-own that debuted last year.

The two women met at a coffeehouse on the North Side, where they hashed out a concept to fit the business’s profile and goal, Esparra recalled. Specifically, the underlying idea was to aim at allowing women to feel they’re part of an “inclusive culture” in which they can be themselves without judgment, she explained.

Resources offered include networking with financial advisors; others are related to education and physical well-being, Esparra continued.

“We need women who say, ‘What can I do to help?'” she said, adding that it’s hoped Culture of Her will make inroads into area schools to teach students etiquette techniques while providing ways for them to begin networking.

Selling a line of skincare products, called Reap & Glow, as part of their business was Esparra’s brother-in-law, Jeff Avila of Cranberry, Pa., and his wife, Maria Avila, both of whom are biologists.

Their products are from plant extracts, Jeff Avila said, adding that he and his wife work closely with their botanical farm partners to create formulas that include coffee fruit, turmeric peptide firming and smoothing serum, and a deep-hydrating rejuvenation cream.

Plenty of music filled the air, because people of all ages and many nationalities were caught up in a spirit of unity, camaraderie and fellowship with one another as the Labra Brothers, a regional Latin funk and soul band, took the outdoor stage shortly before dusk.

After that, they were treated to the sounds of Tony Succar, a two-time Latin Grammy-award-winning artist who, along with his group, offered his rendition of popular Michael Jackson songs from the early 1980s that included “Human Nature” and “Billie Jean,” as well as the 2014 Bruno Mars hit “Uptown Funk.”

Succar also is a Peruvian-American producer, arranger, percussionist and composer who has collaborated with well-known jazz and R&B performers such as Sheila E., Arturo Sandoval and Marc Anthony.