Colquitt event to celebrate Mexican Independence Day

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September 14, 2012

Colquitt event to celebrate Mexican Independence Day

By Alan Mauldin The Moultrie Observer CNHI The Tifton Gazette Fri Sep 14, 2012, 11:54 PM EDT

MOULTRIE — To commemorate Mexico’s independence each year, the president of that nation rings the bell at the National Palace at 11 p.m. today on the anniversary of the declaration of rebellion.

Colquitt County residents with ties to that country will celebrate the event today with dancing, singing, food and costumes reflecting Mexico’s culture.

The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. at a farm at 441 Weaver Road.

About 800 people attended the last festival celebrating Mexican independence held in 2010, said Juana Williams, one of the organizers. That is up from about 250 when she began working with the event in 2003.

“It has gotten bigger and bigger,” she said. “Back in 2003 it was much smaller.”

Although the event coincides with Mexico’s independence, others from the area’s Latino community attend, Williams said.

“Sept. 15 is the day of independence, but everyone is welcome,” she said. “We have people from Guatemala, Puerto Rico, other countries.”

Although Williams was not sure exactly when the event began in Colquitt County, she said it was years before she became involved.

Among the events are pony rides for the children. The adults will be entertained by horse riders and dancers in authentic period costumes, including those reflecting Mexico’s native inhabitants. Several bands also are on tap, and after the performances there will be an opportunity for everyone to dance to the music.

“I believe everyone is going to have fun,” Williams said. “Entrance is free. Everything is going to be cheap, maybe $1 or $2.”

Over the years, the county’s Mexican and Latino population has grown. In 1960, for example, the U.S. Census counted only 646 in Georgia in the category of people of foreign stock reporting Mexico as their country of origin, with Dougherty County representing the largest population of that total with 90.

In the 1980s — with the advent of large scale vegetable production in the county — those numbers began to grow. Recently the Latino population has been growing fastest among all the county’s population, with those of Hispanic or Latino origin growing to 17.6 percent of the county’s total population in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Of a population of 45,498 counted that year, 7,763 were Hispanic or Latino, with 6,334 of those being Mexican. The county had a Cuban population of 619, 112 Puerto Ricans and 698 from other countries.

With those numbers has come increased economic importance.

Darrell Moore, president of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce, said he did not have any numbers on that population’s purchasing power, but said it is significant.

“It’s one of the growing segments of our work force,” he said. “It’s a big part of our community. I know it’s a big part of our community, and I’m sure it’s a significant number. Everywhere you go you see it’s a big part of our population.”

Nationally, the economic purchasing power of Asians and Hispanics is growing fastest among all racial groups, according to a study released in November 2010 by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Despite the recession of that time and the loss in employment of Hispanics of 624,000 jobs over two years of economic downturn, the paper said, the buying power of Asians and Hispanics was expected to continue growing.

Over the prior decade, it said, the purchasing power of Hispanics grew by 108 percent nationally, with Asians close at 98 percent. Hispanic buying power was projected to grow from an annual $1 trillion in 2010 to $1.5 trillion in 2015.

In 2010 Georgia’s Hispanics ranked 10th in purchasing power spending $17 billion annually.

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