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Colorful dresses, authentic food, and displays of cultural customs and traditions drew crowds to Bergfeld Park in Tyler on Saturday for the fifth annual Rose City Fiesta.

The celebratory event, which is Tyler’s biggest festival of Hispanic and Latin American culture, kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in the city. Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

The Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance and the City of Tyler joined forces for the event.

“Rose City Fiesta is the city of Tyler’s largest and most diverse festival of Hispanic and Latin American culture,” said Nancy Rangel, Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance executive director. “It’s really beautiful to see how the community has come together to host an event of this caliber.”

The Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance was the first to launch an event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in the Tyler Metroplex area, and now the event is Tyler’s official Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

The event featured live music, dancing, performances, vendors, food, kid-friendly activities like bouncy houses, visual and folk-art exhibits, educational booths and more.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month “by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America,” according to census.gov. The date of Sept. 15 has significance because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.

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Editor’s Note: The Tyler Morning Telegraph, Tyler Paper Español, and ETX View team was honored to have a space at the event to share our mission with the community. Thank you to Nancy Rangel, TMT Community Advisory Board member, for inviting us. If you would like to support local journalism, please consider a subscription or donation to the Morris Roberts Local Journalism Foundation.