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Procter signs as sponsor for 'Cincy-Cinco' festival

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/business_services/human_resources/2004/
03/15/cincinnati_newscolumn2.html

Procter & Gamble Co. has signed on as the primary sponsor for "Cincy-Cinco," the Latino heritage festival that will make its debut May 1-2 at Coney Island.

P&G joins other major sponsors that include General Electric, Chiquita Brands International, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, WKRC-Channel 12, Budweiser and Pepsi, said Alfonso Cornejo, chairman of the festival.

Cincy-Cinco will provide an opportunity for Tri-Staters to learn more about Latino culture, he said. Activities will include a kids' area, with arts and crafts, face-painting and the like; an adult area with Spanish language, dance and cooking lessons; authentic Latino food from area restaurants, as well as home-cooking from some Latino groups, and music and dance acts on two stages. Other activities include a Mariachi mass, raffles and booths selling Hispanic products.

The festival is an addition to, rather than a replacement for, the popular Latino festival that is held every September at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Carthage, Cornejo said.

"They can't grow it," he said of that festival, which takes place on church grounds and at the Su Casa Hispanic Ministry across the street.

The Coney Island festival will serve several purposes, Cornejo said. First, it will provide a larger venue and attract more non-Latino families.

A second goal is to dispel the idea that the Mexican holiday "Cinco de Mayo" (May 3), is meant solely for drinking and carousing. In fact, the holiday, which celebrates the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla, is a very low-key affair in Mexico, Cornejo said, adding that it became popular in the United States through an advertising promotion by the Taco Bell fast-food chain.

"They started it, and the beer companies jumped in," he said.

And finally, the proceeds of the festival will go to Su Casa and other local Hispanic ministries, he said. The ministries provide an array of services, including social services and job assistance, to Latinos, many of whom are newly arrived in the area.

"When (Latino) natives are in trouble, they're not knocking at my door, they're knocking at Su Casa's door," Cornejo said. "We think we can help them by keeping Su Casa strong."

Cornejo, a human resources consultant and vice chairman of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cincinnati, is organizing the festival with Co-Chair Neil Comber Valdespino, a retired marketing professional, and with help from Michael Flynn, who heads Su Casa. Mike Smith, who served as executive director for Tall Stacks 2003, has been hired to organize the festival.

Cornejo said several levels of sponsorship are still available, ranging from $25,000 to $2,500. For more information, call (513) 721-3555.

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