For the seventeenth yr, Somerville and Cambridge streets from Davis Square to Harvard Square have been taken over by the intense, percussive crowds for the ultimate day of the 2022 HONK! Fest on Sunday.
“Every year it’s this same vibe, same positive energy,” stated Bob Francois, who performed with the Haitian avenue band Rara Bel Poze throughout Sunday’s parade. “We love to get the opportunity to participate in something with so much diversity and to expose our cultural tradition to everybody that’s here.”
The HONK! Festival lasts from Friday to Sunday, inviting brass bands from all throughout the nation and offering a platform to native organizations, artists and activists. Since its begin in 2006, the pageant’s web site boasts, the celebration has unfold so far as Brazil and Australia.
Signs held excessive in Sunday’s parade ran the gambit of main nationwide and native points, from “Affordable Housing for All” to “Climate Justice Now” to “Yes on 4.”
“It’s only weeks away from the election, and we know that many folks won’t know about this Question 4,” stated Roxana Rivera, the manager vp of 32BJ SEIU, referencing the poll query difficult undocumented immigrants’ capability to acquire driver’s licenses. “We want to make sure it’s given as much visibility as possible, given the short timeline.”
The pageant, Rivera stated, is an effective discussion board to present points like this one which sort of visibility.
Many, largely organized by Vida Urbana, additionally used the parade to advocate for hire management and spotlight skyrocketing housing prices throughout Massachusetts.
Wearing large heads, carrying paper swords and shields and hoisting large banners, housing advocate marchers pointed to tenants’ rights info and housing assets.
Nearly half of all renters face unaffordable housing price burdens in Massachusetts, in line with the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the group stated in a press launch.
The messaging campaigns and brass bands blasting acquainted rhythms blended seamlessly with performers on stilts, cultural teams, hula hoopers, bikers and extra within the surprisingly heat, high-energy Sunday afternoon.
“My favorite part about HONK! is being incredibly exhausted,” one emcee yelled right into a mic, “and finding the motivation to come back again.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”