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Fiesta in Florissant Patrons Come For Hispanic Food, Music & Crafts
The dance floor was a popular spot the last Sunday in June at the annual Fiesta in Florissant.
Story and Photos by Nichole Butler
The parking lot on the grounds of Knights of Columbus was still full just hours before this year’s annual Fiesta in Florissant was to come to an end Sunday, June 26.
Residents from all over the Florissant area were flooding the grounds; shopping the booths, enjoying the authentic foods, and dancing to live Latino music under the pavilion. There were smiling faces and swaying hips in almost every direction I looked. It was definitely a fiesta!
As the boyfriend and I got out of the car, it was the festive music coming from the center of it all that drew us in, and we made a direct bee-line towards the pavilion.
The music was fun and upbeat, and several people were dancing as onlookers – like myself – stood around the perimeter of the dance floor bobbing their heads or tapping their feet or swaying their hips just enough to enjoy the music but not enough to be too noticed.
The music, though fun, was not the only attraction. There were several booths, both food and art, that surrounded the pavilion and were getting lots of attention.
The booth that I found to be most intriguing was Tango Argentina Food where their motto is “The taste of my country”.
Hector and Stella Aberastury are from Buenos Aires and set up at Hispanic festivals all over Missouri and Illinois.
Hector and Stella Aberastury are from Buenos Aires, Argentina and have been vending at Hispanic festivals in the Missouri and Illinois areas for the past 11 years. “We import all the spices from Argentina, and we make the empanadas using secret family recipes,” Stella Aberastury informed me as she was pointing out the most popular empanada recipes from Argentina – mild meat, spicy meat, spinach, ham and cheese, and creamy corn.
My waist line would not allow me to divulge, but the yummy display was not easy to ignore. I walked away jealous of anyone else who was lucky enough to get a taste. (For more information about Tango, visit their website at www.tangoargentinafood.com)
Other authentic food choices were offered at several other booths, from entrées to desserts. Arts were also widely available. Toy maracas and flutes were everywhere as I eyed them as a possible purchase for my two-year-old cousin. Jewelry, rosaries, purses, and shawls especially caught my girly attention. The boyfriend had to continually steer me away before I spent all of the birthday money I had just received!
We left the festival with about one hour until closing time; and the fiesta was still going strong! It was definitely an enjoyable experience, and could very well possibly make it to our 2012 To-Do List!
