SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The Hispanic Heritage Association of Northwest Louisiana celebrated its 2023 Day of the Dead Festival last weekend.

This was their first annual event in downtown Shreveport and was held at Festival Plaza. The purpose of the celebration was to show the cultural growth in the Shreveport-Bossier area.

Those who came out to the festival enjoyed live entertainment, taqueria food vendors, Mexican Folklore Dancing, and natives dressed up as Aztec warriors.

This festival is just the first of many more Day of the Dead hosted here in Shreveport.

Owner of 318 Bryant Garcia Latino said “To those Hispanics that are new to the area or have been here I welcome you to be a part of the community. I know sometimes we as Hispanics we don’t know the language, we’re new to the area, we may not wanna be a part of the community in general but it’s time for us to get out there and be a part of this community. To be a part of the broader community and of course to show out everything that we can do for this community.”

Bryant also said “I just wanna thank everybody that made this event possible. I think we’ve had so much help. Not just from sponsors but from government, from business Shreveport-Bossier. From everybody that put a little grain of salt, their time, their effort. Whether it was financial or whether it was time. Thank you guys so much for everything you’ve done for this event.”

The HHA of Northwest Louisiana will be hosting its Noche de Gala sometime in December. This will be the last event they hold in 2023.