‘Very Awesome to Be Born, Raised in City Heights’ – Community Shows Its Pride at Fest ...Middle East

City Heights’ fifth annual Festival of LOVE celebration returned Saturday to showcase the diverse cultures that the area has to offer and the resources available for those who live in the community.

Antonio Cerecedo Figueroa leads the committee of City Heights residents who helped put together the free event. The goal of their committee is to promote the diversity of the urban neighborhood.

While his full-time job is at the Ocean Discovery Institute, Cerecedo Figueroa said he volunteers because he wants to see the community thrive.

“I want to show San Diego County what City Heights has to offer, that there is a lot of diversity and it’s a hot spot for cultures, which is very unique, not just in San Diego or in California, but in the whole country,” Cerecedo Figueroa said.

“You can’t find a place like this, which is very awesome, I think to be born and raised here in City Heights.”

Booths hosted by a variety of community organizations formed a perimeter around Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, offering everything from healthcare to voter registration, tutorial services for refugees and cultural support.

“For today’s event, we have different nonprofits that offer services to City Heights, no matter what culture you’re in. Some people might know about it. Some people might not know about it,” Cerecedo Figueroa said. “It’s always a great scene to see them all come together.”

Vintage cars were lined along the outside of the park, mostly lowriders, which glistened in the sunlight, catching the eyes of those who passed by.

Irene Richards, a native of East San Diego, brought her bright blue Pontiac, which was riding low enough to the ground to be mistaken for missing its wheels. It’s been a long time coming for her to have a classic car of her own, she said, and it’s in practically pristine condition.

“I’m just here, back in the neighborhood, to show the kids that you can do it, you can make it. Your dreams can come true, you just got to work hard and be positive,” Richards said.

All throughout the day, entertainers took the amphitheater stage in the park, with all different kinds of performances slated to highlight cultural traditions.

Thu Vo, 12, was gearing up to perform a dance alongside the Vietnamese Youth Group. While she waited, she made a paper crown alongside her friends at a booth set up for crafts.

It’s her second time performing at the festival, she said, and the energy of being on stage is exciting.

Around the park, children in outfits associated with their performance meandered about. Vo bounced with her two friends in their pink, traditional Vietnamese dresses, and all of them wore bright pink lipstick to match.

Across from them was a group of kids wearing mariachi costumes, all black with pops of red, ready to take the stage at some point in the day.

For volunteer Esperanza González, seeing the different dances is her favorite way the event showcases how the diversity of City Heights.

“The purpose is to unite the different communities here because we have a multicultural city,” González said in Spanish. “City Heights is multicultural, with many languages, many foods and we want to expand more, expand it more, have more events, more dances.”

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