Latinx political and cultural festival, Lánzate, hits Philly this weekend

Latinx change-makers in Philly will get a chance to gather with like-minded community members as Mijente’s Lánzate festival takes place in the city this weekend.

The festival, which has previously been in San Antonio, San Juan, and Chicago, is a space for Latinx and Chicanx people to build a community that is pro-Black, pro-LGBTQ, pro-worker, pro-immigrant, and pro-planet, according to Lánzate’s website.

The three-day festival’s schedule is stacked with sessions such as “¡Qué bonita es la Bamba! — Música de Resistencia y Esperanza,” “Environmental Racism in 2022,” and “Échale Más Sazón: Latino Health & Nutrition.” Special guests include the Puerto Rican rapper El Hijo de Borikén and award-winning cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz.

Guests will have the opportunity to have political conversations, support local businesses, and celebrate their cultures. For the early risers, there will even be a drag brunch Sunday morning at Taller Puertorriqueño.

Tickets for the festival range from $250 to $500, with the highest price, called the “Solidarity Rate,” including a donation to Lánzate’s scholarship fund.

Mijente, a Latinx rights organization, has spent a significant amount of time and effort in Philadelphia this year, working to get Latinos to the polls and to create meaningful connections in neighborhoods in Philadelphia that have high numbers of Latinos, such as North Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: Organizers hit the streets of North Philly to talk to Latino voters

The organization chose Philly as the festival grounds this year due to the potential Mijente believes Latinos in the city have to make a change in the country.

“I think Philly is one of those places that stands out on a national level when it comes to Latinx engagement,” said Erika Almirón, Philadelphia organizer at Mijente. “Some real engagement in the city, I think, could really change the outcome for democracy in the country.”

Tapping into local cultural centers, Lánzate will have activities in venues throughout the city, including Taller Puertorriqueño, University of the Arts, William Way LGBT Community Center, and Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown. Attendees will be bused between each venue to attend different sessions.

In choosing the venues, Lánzate organizers were determined to partner with organizations that are pro-Latinx and led by Latinx communities. “Parts of these workshops and events need to happen in the Barrio, and so Taller [Puertorriqueño] became an important place to ensure that we had access to,” Almirón said. “And William Way is such a historic building and has a rich history in the Gayborhood.”

“What we see is that the right is doing the work to try and recruit our folks and also use our culture and our language to do that.”

In November, Mijente organizers had boots on the ground to speak with thousands of Latinos in Philadelphia about the general election and to help them register to vote. Canvassers spoke English and Spanish in order to reach as many people as possible, and the Mijente created lasting relationships with the volunteers they worked with, many of whom will be present for Lánzate.

“[The canvassing volunteers] are super excited to be there and I think they’re gonna be honored for the work they pulled off in the community,” Almirón said. “This is an opportunity for a lot of the newer members of Mijente to see the scope, how big Mijente is. A lot of the time … your work can feel a little isolating and you can feel very alone when you’re trying to fight for what’s right. So the ability for people to share space like that is really valuable.”

Lánzate organizers also see the festival as a way to take back the narratives about Latinx communities and voting throughout the country.

“There are a lot of narratives about our community moving toward the right across the country. What we see is that the right is doing the work to try and recruit our folks and also use our culture and our language to do that,” Almirón said.

“You can have all these stories about what’s happening to Latinos when it comes to electoral politics, but we’re only gonna be able to win our folks if we’re talking to them with culturally competent messaging.”