festivals

Mi Gente's festivals are generally scheduled around cultural celebrations. Regardless of the theme, our festivals prioritize underrepresented artists and entrepreneurs. We want to create a space where culture and representing communities are at the forefront of our celebrations.

block party

Our "Block Party" festival, in conjunction with Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, was Mi Gente's inaugural festival in July 2022. This festival included over 50 arts vendors and over 30 sponsors. Some of the entrepreneurs and artists there were participating in their first event EVER!

mexipino fest

Our "Mexipino Fest" in collaboration with Masarap the Homie, was by far the biggest festival to date. This event was focused on bringing cultures together to showcase and appreciate our differences and similarities. We had guests from Sacramento to San Diego, and even from Phoenix, AZ!

hispanic heritage month

Our Hispanic Heritage Month event was to celebrate the start of Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept 15 to Oct 15. We wanted to highlight art, food, and culture from all the Latinx countries that were being celebrated during that holiday.

holiday mercado

The "Holiday Mercado" event was a two-weekend series inside the Capitola Mall in Santa Cruz. We wanted to give an opportunity for vendors to set up shop inside the mall during prime holiday shopping season!

Art vendors with earrings selling their merchandise inside the Capitola Mall

mi gente anniversary

Our "Mi Gente Anniversary" festival was to celebrate the first year since Mi Gente's fruition. We had arts vendors, DJs, and dance performances. Since it was a Latinx birthday party, what other way to celebrate than with a piñata! The first of many birthdays...

A young child hitting a Chavo Del Ocho pinata at our birthday party

lover's kickback

"Lover's Kickback" was our homies Valentine's Day event. Whether it was your family, friends, or your boo thang, we wanted to hold a space to celebrate love between one another and our community. This event was music focused to highlight our DJs and the old school love hits that pull on our heartstrings and make us want to celebrate.

Guests dancing in front of a stage while a DJ performs during Valentine's Day

rEUNIóN

Our Reunión festival was our Spring kick-off event that was intended to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together to soak up some sun, shop from local vendors, and dance the afternoon away! The focus was to feel like you were at a family reunión with folks from all cultures to celebrate our uniqueness.

People of different cultures line dancing on the grass in the sunshine

CINCO DE MAYO

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated to commemorate Mexico's victory over France in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War on May 5, 1862. This festival was hosted to celebrate and honor Mexican culture and heritage through traditional folklorico dancing, children's mariachi and plenty of family love and support!