3rd Annual Americas Latino Eco Festival comes to Denver

“Our relatives in Mexico are living through it, so we have direct line, that umbilical chord with our extended family that is really living climate change impacts big time.”

Is a multi-cultural environmental festival now in its 3rd year in the Denver metro area that festival director Irene Vilar says aims to highlight and encourage Latino leadership in environmental issues “it really works hard at trying to leverage Latino leadership for conservation gains, from the region and from the nation.”

Vilar says that Latinos have always been involved in environmental issues, but the traditional environmental advocacy organizations haven’t done enough to reach out and include the Latino voices. Vilar says there is a visible disconnect between mainstream environmental organizations “the Big Greens” and Environmental Justice Groups “EJs”, “we think in the environmental movement, there has been this kind of divide, but then it becomes even more redundant when you look at the color lines.”

Vilar says that the Latino community has always been supportive of environmental stewardship because they are directly impacted by climate change “our relatives in Mexico are living through it, so we have direct line, that umbilical chord with our extended family that is really living climate change impacts big time.”

3rd Annual Americas Latino Eco Festival comes to Denver kgnu

The 3rd annual ALEF is happening from October 15–17 in Denver with the theme, A Climate of Hope: Where Conservation Meets the Future, ALEF is co produced by Americas for Conservation + the Arts (AFC+A) and Sachamama, and is co presented with Earthjustice, GreenLatinos, Conservation Colorado, and made possible with the generous support of Great Outdoors Colorado, Audubon Rockies, Climate Reality, WWF, EDF, LCV, NWF, TNC, NRDC Voces Verdes, Grace Communications Foundation, Bonfils Stanton Foundation, and the City of Denver.