Soaking up the flavor of the Latino Heritage Festival

As you have no doubt noticed, Linda and I look enjoy tasty food, live music, and photo opportunities. The Latino Heritage Festival is made to order! Tie in free admission to the Blank Park Zoo and it's hard to skip.

We arrived within the first hour they were admitting people, about an hour before lunch time. A familiar dance group from Chicago was just starting their last number for the set. They were followed by another excellent musical group we'd seen last year. You can see them in the upper right image, over the sombrero.

After I took that shot, I looked to my right and got the bottom center shot of the boy at the crafts tent. They were doing some kind of spin art and, further down, working on pinatas. When I turned my back to the stage, I saw the two women in Panamanian costumes dancing to the music. This is a fun festival! We made our way along the various tents with information about each cultural group represented ... and the corporate sponsors.

Ready for lunch, we hit the food vendors. I had a very tasty rice and chicken dish from Ecuador. The guy at the booth suggested adding ketchup; I was skeptical but put a little on one portion. I thought it was tasty enough without but when I did try some with, it really did compliment the flavor very nicely. It added a sweetness that fit right in.

We took a spin around the zoo. As we approached the lions and tigers, something was hooting and howling from a little further up the path. When we rounded the bushes, we found that at least one of the white handed gibbons was really in a talkative mood. He didn't seem upset about anything, just airing whatever was on his mind whether he was perched on a limb or swinging around the enclosure. It was very entertaining. It was also fun to see the faces of people seeing him make his rounds, howling away. We moved on to check the giraffes.

Satisfied with our look at the zoo, we were feeling like we could try another food item. This time we settled on elotes.

Elotes, Mexican Corn on the Cob, was something new. Grill or boil an ear of corn, slather it with mayonnaise and butter, sprinkle with cheese, salt, and chili powder, and you get the idea. If you're thinking that doesn't sound tasty, you just have to try it some time; it's yummy! A recipe can be found by clicking here.

Our hunger satisfied for the time being, we took another swing by the stage and saw the little boys in masks apparently depicting little old men as they played out some old story. As we left, there were twenty more coming in to fill the void.