Westbury: A Town, Thousand Roots
Just forty minutes from Manhattan, in the small town of Westbury where the trees were already announcing autumn, on September 21st a space opened for memory and joy: the Festival of Cultures. Although the event bore the name Hispanic Heritage Month , the gathering became universal: flags and accents from distant shores intertwined in a single heartbeat. "It was a day of multiplied loaves and fishes". The generous hands of women kept watch so that no one would leave without tasting the flavors of Latin cuisine. There were salads, appetizers from different countries, crispy empanadas and, as a playful nod to coexistence, even pizza and pasta were adopted into the feast. Restaurants, small businesses and entrepreneurs offered not only food but also gifts, as a reminder of shared abundance. Art spilled out on every corner. Some paintings, too large for the panels, hung from the trees. A painter turned children’s cheeks into living canvases and, later, dressed as a clown, watched ...