Amigos Festival celebrates Latino culture, offers answers on presidential election

"Now, I go to the store with 100 bucks, two, three bags and I was like oh my god."

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Thousands of people came out to enjoy the 24th annual Amigos International Festival Latino at Odgen Park in Wilmington.

People came from all over the state to enjoy the festival, which featured singers and folklore dance groups.

Food vendors offered cuisine from Mexico and Brazil to Puerto Rico and Honduras.

For some people, like Arlene Gutierrez, it’s special seeing so many cultures interact with each other.

“I enjoy it because you see a lot of culture from other different countries,” Gutierrez said. “I mean, yesterday when I was here, I saw people from Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru. And that’s what I like, we’re sharing the same world together. That’s the way I look at it.”

The festival was held less than a week after former president Donald Trump won re-election, due in part to strong support from the country’s Latino communities.

Erika Botello said even though she voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, she said the economy was why so many Latinos voted for Trump.

“Me, I have 3 kids, when I had my first young one, you know, you go to the store and 100 bucks and your car was full,” Botello said. “But then afterwards, now I go to the store with 100 bucks, two, three bags and I was like oh my god, and we get paid the same at the end of the day. We just needed lower prices for everything and I totally understood that.”

Botello added that she felt other issues like immigration and how long it can take for immigrants to become American citizens also swayed Latino voters.

Several people WWAY spoke with said the economy was their #1 concern and why they voted from Trump, while others said they just decided not to vote because they weren’t sure about either candidate.