Alice Gomez doesn’t have to travel far to get to the Guadalupe Centers’ Cinco de Mayo fiesta every year — the festivities are very nearly right outside her front door.
“Look at this whole area: two, three blocks of fiesta,” Gomez said on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Just a block away, Day 2 of this year’s celebration was in full swing.
Gomez, 83, has lived most of her life in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood, near the Guadalupe Centers. According to the National Register for Historic Places, it’s the longest continuously-operating agency that serves Latinos in the U.S.
“Back then it (the fiesta) was one Guadalupe Centers’ playground — that's it,” Gomez said. “But that's been my home away from home. I grew up with the center.”
Last weekend, Latinos from across Kansas City descended on Avenida Cesar E. Chavez to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Guadalupe Centers’ Cinco de Mayo fiesta.
The festivities included ethnic food and goods from local businesses, a kids’ play area, a luchador fight, traditional folkloric dances and scores of music performances. And, for longtime fiestagoers like Gomez, it is a chance to reconnect with old friends and family.
“My whole family comes tonight,” Gomez said. “They'll be here. I'll have a porch full of people.
For the moment, Gomez strolled the festival with one of her more than 40 grandchildren, Rachelle Morales. But their night will eventually shift towards home.
“My grandma's house is definitely a must-stop,” Morales confirmed. “If you know her and you know her love for the Westside and the Guadalupe Centers, people will come knocking on her door.”
Morales said she’s attended the Cinco de Mayo fiesta her whole life, and has seen it grow and evolve. She also graduated from Guadalupe Centers High School 19 years ago.
“It's not just about the Hispanic community, it's more about involving other cultures and the growth and the involvement of the Guadalupe Centers,” she said. “It's incredible to see where it was and where it's going.”
‘Guadalupe Centers is for everyone’
Guadalupe Centers was founded in 1919 by a Catholic women’s club to provide services for Mexican immigrants living in Kansas City’s Westside, many of whom came to the area to work on the railroads.
“They missed their homeland, their culture, their music, their food — all that good stuff,” said Leo Prieto, chief community impact officer at Guadalupe Centers.
Seven years after its founding, Guadalupe Centers hosted its first Cinco de Mayo celebration.
“They brought in mariachis, traditional music, traditional dance, and they had all the homemade food,” Prieto said. “And what started off as just a little fiesta, a small fiesta for the community, has really grown and blossomed throughout the years.”
Over the past century, Guadalupe Centers has expanded its services to include running one of the largest charter schools in Kansas City and offering support for aging seniors, families and kids after school and throughout the summer.
Prieto said he hopes the fiesta also brings people in from outside the Westside neighborhood to the center’s growing community.
“It's just so special to see the history, the legacy, that this center represents,” Prieto said. “From first-generation immigrants to third- to fourth- and fifth- and sixth-generation Mexican Americans — and everyone, because the Guadalupe Centers is for everyone.”
‘The reason we come’
On the first day of this year’s Cinco de Mayo fiesta, the courtyard at Guadalupe Centers’ headquarters buzzed with chatter, music and excitement.
Local vendors lined the perimeter selling toys, jewelry, Cuban coffee, elote and other Mexican street food. In the center, families sat around tables listening to live music and visiting with old friends. On stage, a mariachi played “La Bamba,” with the crowd singing along to the chorus.
Yolanda Rojas-Artese enjoyed the music from close to the stage. Her father, Paul Rojas, has long been involved with the Guadalupe Centers and was the first Latino elected to the Missouri Statehouse, in 1972. Growing up on the Westside, Rojas-Artese said Guadalupe Centers was an outlet for her.
“My whole life was here — and it's my sisters, my brothers, and it's all generations,” she said. “So you'll notice that families that are here, we all grew up here on the Westside.”
Rojaz-Artese lit up with a smile as a longtime friend, Pat Muñoz, approached with a hug.
“We’ve known each other forever,” Rojas-Artese said. “This is the reason why we come to these events.”
The pair also chat with Diane Rojas, who has worked at the Guadalupe Centers for more than 40 years. Rojas is currently the organization’s chief program services officer.
“It's always a celebration of our culture and the community and the Latino people's resilience,” she said. “It's a time to celebrate and be proud of our heritage and what we've accomplished.”
Rojas’ children also grew up at these fiestas, she said, and volunteered at the booths when they were old enough. They’re all grown up now, but Rojas said they still come to the fiesta.
“It's a safe place, it's a safety net,” Rojas said. “Not only does it provide comfort and safety, it also inspires and elevates families. I feel like it means a lot, because it does so many things for families and community.”
