Lakeland’s first-ever Fuego Festival ignites downtown with Latin culture celebration

Downtown Lakeland hosts inaugural Fuego Festival

The Fuego Festival is spicing up downtown Lakeland. The one-day event is a celebration of Latin culture — bringing fire, rhythm, flavor and heritage. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Fuego Festival is spicing up downtown Lakeland.

The backstory:

The one-day event is a celebration of Latin culture — bringing fire, rhythm, flavor and heritage.

Tony Agnello is the CEO and co-owner of Notta Gallery in the heart of downtown. The gallery has been open for about eight months.

Agnello is helping to throw the first-ever Fuego Festival, closing part of downtown in celebration of Latin culture.

What they're saying:

"When we started talking to people, we kept getting, 'We need it, we want it. This is awesome.' So, it was really heartening, like, ‘Ok, we should do this,’" Agnello said.

There will be live music, dozens of vendors, food, a Cuban cigar lounge, and artists like William Araujo, who will be painting live.

"I'm going to love meeting all the other Latinos. You don't have a lot of venues where you meet others, and where there is a lot of diversity of different cultures. There are Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Central Americans, and those are just all the ingredients that make us a melting pot," Araujo said. "It's something I'm super happy to be a part of and be able to add to."

Dig deeper:

A new exhibition in Agnello's gallery serves as the artistic centerpiece of the festival.

Artist Gonzalo Borges grew up in Cuba, and he recently moved to Lakeland.

Now 90 years old, Borges started painting when he was 11. He has worked in Miami and Brooklyn, New York, and is currently showcasing 40 years of his art.

Big picture view:

As far as the festival goes, Agnello hopes it will become a yearly tradition.

"Maybe we shouldn't just do it this year; maybe we should find Latin artists every year around this time and do another festival and do Fuego 2 and 3 to celebrate Latino culture and have a great art exhibition," Agnello said.

It's more than just a festival — it's culture.

The festival opened at 6 p.m. on Friday. 

Borges' exhibition runs from Friday through July 12.

For more information on the festival, click here.