Pittsburgh to celebrate first Hispanic Heritage Festival

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - This weekend Pittsburgh will have a chance to taste and celebrate Hispanic culture on the North Shore.

Music, food and more will be on display Saturday at PNC Park, the location of the first Hispanic Heritage Festival in Pittsburgh. 

"When we first moved to Pittsburgh, we saw a lack of culture in terms of Hispanic culture," said Benny Ulloa, the owner of Emiliano's Mexican Restaurant. "So we figured we'd bring an event like this, which I have seen in other parts of the country." 

It was Ulloa's idea to have a Hispanic Heritage Festival in the 'Burgh. 

"We first did one of these a few years ago next to one of our restaurants in the South Side and the plan was to continue to do it," he said. "But we just hadn't been able to because of the pandemic." 

The event takes place in the left field lounge at the ballpark. There will be two sessions from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. and from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Tickets are available online through Emiliano's website.

"It's a family-oriented event," he said. "So there's going to be activities for the little ones: face painting, sugar skull decorating, a guacamole-making station."  

He says of course there will be tequila, but also authentic Hispanic music.   

Pittsburgh-based Karibe Son will be the headliner. They started here about four years ago and now their sound is truly international. 

"We actually just came back from touring Columbia, we came back a couple weeks ago," said Karibe Son member Angelo Amador. "We're representing Pittsburgh obviously because this is our hometown."

"We are representing Pittsburgh, we are local and we are so proud to be representing this city," said Gustavo Pinilla, another Karibe Son member.

Pittsburgh has a growing Hispanic population. Organizers say they want to highlight their culture here.

"I think it's important for people to live together, to work together and to enjoy all these different customs that we have together as well," Ulloa said.