October 19, 2023
Dia del Salvadoreño Houston will host an Aug. 6 festival in George Bush Park to celebrate the city’s Salvadoran culture. The festival will feature food, games, vendors and concerts.
The event will bring together more than 14 performers from Hispanic music genres like Spanish rap, Bachata and pop music, plus Hispanic celebrities like revered football star Jorge “El Magico” Gonzalez. Thousands of people, including U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, attended last year’s festival at Bayland Park.
A full list of this years performers can be found here. Tickets start at $35 and go up to $160 for VIP experiences. No outside food, beverages or coolers are permitted.
Houston’s large Salvadoran population has come together in small communities in different parts of the city. The Gulfton area has a strong Central American community, evidence of which can be seen in the many shops that sell products and food from residents’ native countries. There are more than 250,000 Central Americans living in the Houston area, according to U.S. census data, making the group the second biggest Latino demographic behind Mexico.
Salvadorians celebrate Dia del Salvadoreño across the globe to commemorate their culture and the patron saint of their nation’s capital, Jesus Christ, also known in the country as “San Salvador.” Conquistadors who settled there named the city San Salvador, which translates from Spanish to “holy savior.”
The festivities in San Salvador last from Aug. 1-6 and include numerous parades, religious activities, games, and floats. The most significant religious event is on Aug. 5, when “La bajada,” or “the descent,” takes place.
On this day, a procession carrying a statue of the holy savior walks through the streets and ends at the San Salvador National Cathedral. Next, the savior, dressed in red, is lowered into a globe representing Earth, from which he emerges later wearing white clothing. This switch represents the transfiguration of Jesus in the Catholic church.
Vía: Houston Chronicle
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