BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Immigrant advocacy groups are working together to establish a Latino festival that would celebrate the contributions and culture of the Latino community in the borough.
According to borough resident Frank Argote-Freyre, the demographics of Freehold have significantly changed in recent years and Latinos now comprise 40 percent of the town’s residents.
Argote-Freyre said a festival to focus on the Latino community would be a “wonderful way to celebrate the rich contributions that Latinos have made to our society at large and to the town of Freehold in particular.”
The project is a joint effort between the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey and the Coalition for the Empowerment of Latinos and the Working Poor. Argote-Freyre is the coordinator of the Latino Leadership Alliance of Monmouth County.
The Latino Festival Committee is comprised of Aurora Gonzalez, the former supervisor of the Hispanic Affairs Resource Center; the Rev. Ron Vande Bunte, pastor of the Reformed Church of Freehold; and borough resident Stephen Richter, who is a member of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey and the Coalition for the Empowerment of Latinos and the Working Poor.
“We envision a setting where people of all backgrounds come together to have a good time and learn about each other,” Argote-Freyre said.
Plans for the festival are in the early stages and the two groups are hoping to have everything in place for the festival to be held in the late fall or next spring.
Plans will include an educational component, an entertainment component and a cultural component. Ethnic food is also expected to be a part of the festivities.
Richter said he “feels a Latino festival celebrating the culture and contributions of the Latino community in Freehold can go a long way toward fostering better understanding and a spirit of cooperation between long-time residents and our newest neighbors.”
Vande Bunte said the goals for the festival are modest for the first attempt. Latino musicians, artists and poets will be sought to participate.
“We anticipate that over time, the festival will grow and become a celebration of diversity in Freehold,” Vande Bunte said.
Argote-Freyre said the proposal for a Latino festival was brought to a recent meeting of the Freehold Borough Human Relations Committee for discussion. He said there was some “divergence” of opinion among committee members. He said the general feeling was that committee members would rather see a multi-ethnic festival rather than an event targeting only one culture.
Argote-Freyre said he did not oppose this viewpoint and agreed that in the future a multi-ethnic festival would be good. But for now, he said, “we want some independent recognition of the contributions of the Latino community and its great importance.”
Councilman Kevin Coyne, who is the Borough Council’s liaison to the Human Relations Committee, said, “the feeling of the committee is that it would be more appropriate to have a festival that celebrates the diversity of Freehold, rather than one that favors one particular group.”
Coyne said the strength of the town is in its diversity.
“We want to represent all of our ethnic groups and their cultures,” he said, adding that representing all facets of the Freehold community is the very foundation of the Human Relations Committee.
Cecilia Reynolds, who was born in Mexico, is also a member of the Human Relations Committee. Reynolds, who has supported the immigrant community in the borough for several years through her work as the publisher of and reporter for Nosotros, a Spanish language newspaper, said she favors the idea of a cultural diversity day.
Reynolds said she wants to see everyone unite.
“If we have to call the festival a cultural diversity day in order for us to share some time together and to learn about each other, that’s fine,” Reynolds said. “The atmosphere in the town is still heated. If it is only to be a Latino festival, then who will we integrate with?
“I think a festival celebrating the town’s diversity would be wonderful, especially if it can bring all members of the community together to experience different cultures. It’s a starting point and we all have to start somewhere. The name given to the festival shouldn’t really matter, should it?” Reynolds asked.
The Latino community is made up of people from 23 counties, according to Argote-Freyre, who said Freehold’s Latino community is primarily made up from people who hail from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru and Cuba.
Having a successful event will take a lot of work, according to festival committee members, who said they are contacting Latino business owners in the borough to enlist their support.
The Freehold Borough School District is also on the support list for the festival. According to Superintendent of Schools Philip J. Meara, one of the town’s three schools may be the site of the first festival.
“The Board of Education has always tried to support any community group that comes to us for help,” Meara said.
He said a cultural festival would be in keeping with the board’s mission and strategic plan to increase parental involvement in the school district.