GREATER KANSAS CITY NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE COMMITTEE INC
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Mission Statement
GKCNHHC Inc's mission is to promote wide recognition and appreciation for the significant role and contributions of Hispanics in the development of the United States through promoting cultural, educational and economic development advancement of the Hispanic community.
About This Cause
ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY In 1972, under President Richard M. Nixon’s 16-Point Program, now called the Hispanic Employment Program, a few Kansas City areas Hispanic federal employees, in coordination with the Greater Kansas City Federal Executive Board initiated annual activities to commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Week. The activities were held in various federal sector job sites. The Hispanic leaders eventually determined to extend the celebration into the metropolitan Hispanic community by organizing a parade from downtown Kansas City into downtown Armourdale, Kansas. In 1981, Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal employees (Rebecca Jaramillo & Jose Gonzalez) and Guadalupe Center staff member (Ninfa Garza) developed the idea of sponsoring a fiesta in connection with the parade. They named it Fiesta Hispana in keeping with the national intent to celebrate all of the diverse Latino cultures including Mexican, Central and South American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Spanish in the US Hispanic population. The parade was discontinued due to federal cutbacks in financial-logistical support, as well as cumbersome city codes and other requirements. Fiesta Hispana continued in the heart of Kansas City’s Mexican community along Southwest Boulevard in 1982 and 1983, attracting thousands into the small ill-suited space. In 1983, it was recommended the fiesta be moved from Southwest Boulevard to Kansas City’s newly constructed Barney Allis Plaza where many more could gather more comfortably. This was achieved with political support from Kansas City’s first Hispanic KCMO Councilman, Bobby Hernandez. On April 12, 1984, Jose Gonzalez, Rebecca Jaramillo, and Ninfa Garza, with volunteer assistance from attorney-at-law William Lopez, incorporated the Greater Kansas City National Hispanic Heritage Committee (GKCNHHC) as a State of Missouri tax-exempt corporation and obtained IRS Federal 501(c)3 non-profit tax-exempt status in August 1984. The following month, September 1984, Fiesta Hispana attracted over 10,000 Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals and families with children eager to learn of their ancestry, searching for opportunities, and people in general seeking enjoyment and enlightenment. FIESTA HISPANA TODAY Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month, Fiesta Hispana has become the largest and most successful Hispanic fiesta event in the Midwest, attracting more than 65,000 local and out-of-town visitors to downtown Kansas City each year. Fiesta Hispana’s mission is to promote wide recognition and appreciation for the significant role and contributions of Hispanics in the development of the United States through promoting cultural, educational and economic development advancement of the Hispanic community. Fiesta Hispana presents more than 75 professionally designed fiesta booths – among these is a large children’s area which provides special activities for small children and their parents, including a number of area high schools and colleges that conduct youth outreach efforts during the fiesta. Numerous food vendors sell a variety of delicious authentic Latino and non-Latino foods from popular area restaurants. Other booths offer internationally imported jewelry, clothes, games, activities, consumer information, employment opportunities, health services, and more. Fiesta Hispana also features a wide variety of entertainment, which includes international, national, and local groups of folkloric dances, as well as, music from Mexico to Venezuela, Chile, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, and much more. COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY In an effort to expand its community outreach, the GKCNHHC began hosting dances throughout the year designed to generate additional revenue for Fiesta Hispana. After several years of hosting successful events, the effort to help others in the community evolved. Third-party fundraisers were held yearly to benefit organizations and families that were in need of financial support. To date, the GKCNHHC has raised more than $250,000 with these events. As part of the GKCNHHC’s on-going support of educational development, LULAC National Educational Services Centers, Inc. (LNESC) is one of the major partners that benefits from Fiesta Hispana with funds raised through the selling of pop/water/snow-cone products. This is a unique opportunity which allows LNESC to raise much-needed funds for local high school students (and/or groups) and college students.