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Peruvian families and friends gathered in Longmont Sunday to celebrate soccer, togetherness and food while also marking over 200 years of Peruvian independence.
“We all get together every Sunday to see each other and enjoy each other’s company during small family picnics,” Peruvian Johnny Porta said Sunday. “But this day is much bigger and even more important to us.”
Pervuvians fought the Spanish to win independence for their country for two decades before finally breaking free in 1821, said the Peruvians gathered at Clark Park Sunday. Peruvian independence is celebrated about July 28, Porta said.
Proyecto Peru sponsored the gathering at Clark Park, Porta said. Proyecto offers meaningful exposure to the Peruvian culture by coordinating volunteer projects and internships, arranging personalized Spanish classes and host family accommodation to provide a complete and immersive experience, according to the group’s website.
The Peruvian Association of Northern Colorado, meanwhile, also held an Independence Day celebration at Sandstone Ranch Park.
Both highlighted Peruvian food and culture with a healthy dose of soccer. At Clark Park, 6-to-8 soccer teams from Greeley, Loveland, Denver, Boulder and Longmont faced off under the broiling summer sun and in front of family.
Longmont has a “hidden population” of up to 1,000 Peruvians, said Ariel Wishkovsky, a Longmont Realtor and friend to a Peruvian family.
Peruvians are very formal but in a friendly way and family-oriented. “They are very entrepreneurial and very proud of who they are,” Wishkovsky said.
Porta said Peruvians have been drawn to Longmont because of its proximity to mountains. Some of the peaks of the Andes mountains encircle portions of Peru.
Longmont “is very similar to Peru and familiar to a lot of us,” Porta said, who celebrated at Clark Park with his family. Nearby, women cooked up familiar Peruvian dishes generating tantalizing smoke that filled the hot summer air.
“That is our backbone,” Porta said, pointing to the women. “Without the moms we have no organization, and probably no festival. The moms, they are the backbone of our culture.”
