If you’d like to learn more about the Colombian community in Sudbury, enjoying a taste of the country and celebrating its national Independence Day, look no further than Columbian Presente en Sudbury festival, happening July 21 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Twin Forks Fieldhouse (1475 Gary Avenue in New Sudbury.)
Hosted by Colombia per Sudbury (CPS), a non-profit group representing the Colombian community in Sudbury, the event will feature vendors and performers, as well as a taste of Colombia for all to try. The now annual festival is celebrating its third anniversary, with more than 300 attending previous events.
The festival celebrates Colombia’s national Independence Day and is usually held around July 20, as the Colombian War of Independence began on July 20, 1810, when the Junta de Santa Fe was formed in Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granada, to govern the territory autonomously from Spain.
That move inspired similar independence movements across Latin America, and triggered years of rebellion, culminating in the founding of the Republic of Colombia, which spanned present-day Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela, along with parts of northern Peru and northwestern Brazil.
While Gran Colombia would ultimately dissolve in 1831, it was for a time among the most powerful countries in the Western Hemisphere, and played an influential role in shaping the political development of other newly sovereign Latin American states. The modern nation-state of Colombia recognizes the event as its national independence day.
You can find more information about Colombia per Sudbury on their Instagram page, found here.