‘Mercado Day’ kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month in Elkhart

ELKHART, Ind.-- Friday marks the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs until Oct. 15. To celebrate, Elkhart Public Library hosted a mercado, or market, day.

Twenty percent of Elkhart's population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to Andrea Torres, outreach specialist for the library. She was the organizer of Friday’s mercado day.

“It is a celebration of us. It is a celebration of the community going forward from now to the future, about its diversity, about its culture. It’s a celebration of our impact within the United States,” she said.

She said the event is the first of its kind in Elkhart, and it gives the library a chance to cater to this big slice of the population, which can often be underrepresented.

“Always support your local vendors who are underrepresented,” she said. “So, that could be Hispanic people, that could be immigrants, that could also be small-time artists as well.”

The library also hosted a game of Loteria, which Torres says is a Mexican family game similar to Bingo.

Following mercado day is the final night of Curbside Concerts outside the library, featuring Latin music playing until midnight.

Hear from local, Hispanic vendors in the above report from ABC57’s Annie Kate.