Cache Valley Latino Festival 2025
From mid-morning till 10 p.m., Center Street lit up with colors and flags representing South and Central America. On Sept. 13, the fifth annual Latino Festival, held by the Cache Valley Media Group, took place where food vendors, local businesses and music groups showed their pride in their ethnicity. Guatemalan, Mexican, Peruvian, Brazilian and Salvadorian flags stood in front of food stalls and trucks.
Flyers with QR codes of the schedule for the festival were hung up with a detailed list of when the parade of flags and street dances were happening with different bands playing representing different countries. Flags of different countries were hung on stalls and food trucks. Each stall had selected dishes based on where they were from. Brazilian lemonade, empanadas and other delicacies were served while traditional music was playing over the speakers.
Soccer jerseys, cowboy boots, jewelry and traditional Peruvian and Mexican ponchos were displayed for sale. Vendors called out in Spanish and English what they were selling. There were multiple places in the shade to sit with beach umbrellas set up, where Utah State University alum Andrew Melius sat with his son Logan.
“They have good food here, so we came to check it out,” Melius said. “We probably will be back with the rest of the family for some music.”
The event wasn’t just for Latino stalls — other local representatives had booths, such as the non-emergency police force, the Logan Library and the Cache Valley Women’s Clinic. These booths offered information, pamphlets and guides for what they do and where to contact their organization. The USU College of Arts & Sciences had a booth to promote school events in the Logan community. Student ambassadors represented USU, engaging and encouraging students to get involved in community events.
“It’s a great way to let people be aware of the opportunities we have,” student ambassador Leo Sanjinez said, spending the day providing information about USU Athletics, programs and clubs.
The festival served as a platform to advertise and promote small businesses, such as Andean Visual, a photography and videography service with a specialty in Quinceaneras. The business owner Giancarlo Alivilemez used this festival as an opportunity to promote his business.
“We are really popular here in Cache Valley. 90% of our customers are from Cache Valley,” Alivilemez said. “We’re from Peru. The logo we have is ‘From Machu Picchu.’”
Through voting of community members in Cache Valley, Andean Visual was recognized as this year’s Best of Northern Utah award in general services.
“We are so proud of that. In a way to say ‘thank you,’ we share with all the community really good deals,” Alivilemez said.
The event is supported by the Cache Valley Media Group, with City Council member Ernesto Lopez kicking off the event with a thank you to the members of the community who made the event possible. The board that organized the event stepped forward onto the stage, and Lopez thanked them for their hard work as each member was wearing their country’s flag.
An important part of why the festival was taking place is because mid-September is a time where many Latin countries celebrate their independence.
“It is a true pleasure to celebrate with you our Latino and Hispanic heritage,” Lopez said in his speech.