New London ― Jackie and Vicente Ithier, of Newington, stood Sunday in a small crowd of attendees who were all watching Hispanic dancers from in front of one of several food trucks parked on a blocked off section of State Street, in front of City Hall.

“For me, as a teacher, to see the little kids dressed up and embracing the culture ― I love that,” she said. “That’s what I want to see for my students.”

Dancing was just one of the ways in which several Hispanic cultures were embraced Sunday, at a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Music started over loud speakers at 1 p.m., and people started to filter in, joining the crowd that was already there from five local Hispanic organizations, who for the first year, came together to organize the event. But the organizing efforts started with New London-based Taino Productions, owned by Willy and Liz Quiñones.

Willy Quiñones said the two have tried to “reignite” Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in the city after the Centro de la Communicad, which used to host them, “kind of disbanded” about a decade ago.

After all, the city, he said, has a thriving Hispanic population. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, 9,326 live in the city.

After hosting smaller celebrations for the past few years, the Quiñones’ said this year they tried to get more Hispanic groups involved. So they reached out to the local Hispanic Heritage Alliance, along with Game Changer Jeep Club New London County, Las Asociaciones de Dominicanos de New London and Boriken United.

“We (all) have similar missions, which is to keep our cultures and share with the mainstream American culture what we bring,” Quiñones said. “We just didn’t want to lose our heritage, so we share it ― through dancing, language, and food especially.”

Attendees, besides food and music, got to experience culture of multiple Spanish-speaking countries. Representatives danced on behalf of the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico, Ecaudor and Peru, along with Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth. Peruvian and Colombian bands played.

“We also have a big Peruvian population in New London,” Quiñones said.

He said the celebration showed “unity, that even though we come from these different countries, there are lots of threads that unite us.”

The celebration coincided with five separate Spanish-speaking countries’ celebrations their independence ― Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica.

Ithier said the two had seen the event advertised on Facebook and they “wanted to take advantage of celebrating the culture,” so they drove about an hour from Newington.

Jackie, originally from the large Puerto Rican city of Mayaguez, was one of this year’s finalists for Hartford Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year ― for her work helping Hispanic students learn English while they complete other classes at the Naylor School.

Their favorite parts they said included the music, and seeing all the different cultures represented in a positive, happy fashion.

“And for me - just experiencing the other cultures that are out there,” Vicente said.

Quinones says the city has been very supportive in helping Taino with its mission, helping it plan events that celebrate Hispanic culture.

“And we’re looking to continue to grow,” Quinones said. “Everyone in the (community) thinks that this is a big deal. We want to keep putting something positive together.”

d.drainville@theday.com