Hispanic Heritage Celebration: A place for people of “all walks of life”

MURRAY, Utah — Murray City held its first Hispanic Heritage Celebration event on Sept. 9, 2023.

According to diversity, equity and inclusion consultant Conlon Bonner, the Hispanic Heritage Celebration is one of many cultural events that will be or was already held in Murray this year.

“We have talked with the mayor (of Murray) and discussed an idea for creating cultural events throughout the year,” Bonner said.

Previous events include celebrations for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Juneteenth and Pride Month.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Grupo Folklorico Sapichu and Karlysue y Los Trios Charros performed at Murray Amphitheater.

“They were incredible,” Bonner said.

Along with the performers, Bonner said the event had food trucks and over 300 people in attendance. 

“People came, and sat and enjoyed. They sang along with the event,” he said. “It was amazing, not just the amount of people that came, but also the type of people that came.”

Bonner said people from “all walks of life” came to the event.

“It was an event for everyone,” he said. “It felt as if we had created a space of such unity, and acceptance and also recognizing a culture together that everyone could appreciate, and respect and value.”

While Murray is a predominantly white city, Bonner said the Hispanic Heritage Celebration served as a place for everyoned.

“It just showed the type of environment and opportunity that we wanted everyone to experience,” he said. “We wanted everyone to experience that unity.”

With the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Bonner said the hope was to give a feeling that “this city is as much everyone’s as it is anyone’s.”

National Hispanic Heritage Month is held annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Clayre Scott contributed to this article.

Related: ‘Sharing our culture’: Utahns celebrate Japanese Church of Christ’s first-ever summer festival

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