On Saturday, breweries representing local Latinx and indigenous business owners gathered for Suave Fest. The celebration was held in Sun Valley next to the future location of Raices Brewing, the brainchild of Tamil Maldonado and Jose Beteta, who aim to diversify the craft beer industry and bring cultural authenticity to the neighborhood.
We took photos of everyone who said "yes" as the crowds swelled. Many people said they'd never seen an event like it, and more said it was refreshing to attend a beer festival centered around businesses run by people of color. Less than half of a percent of craft breweries are owned by Latinos, while the demographic represents 15-20 percent of beer drinkers.
"It's just the beginning of what I think will happen in this area, for community space, for cultural space. It's amazing."
-City Councilwoman Jamie Torres
"I think its wonderful, especially to bring all these cultures together ... The world needs to be more aware of what their neighbors have."
-Norma Cannalte
"It's celebrating Latino culture and Latino unity and its time for all of us to work together and show our presence ... There's a lot of us and we have a lit of economic power and a lot of cultural knowledge."
-Angela Maria Ortiz-Roa
"We want to be sure that Latinos always have a seat at the table whether its having a sip of beer or in a board room with a bunch of muckity mucks."
-Flo Ramos
"I've never seen anything like this and I think its amazing ...
You don't see a lot of festivals really embracing diversity."
-Lindsey Vargas
"This is awesome ... I didnt know we had so many Latino brewers."
-Rudy Arola
Want more portraits? Check "All the dogs we met at City Park Jazz," "Everyone we met on Colfax," "Everyone we met at UMS," "Everyone we met on First Friday" and, that Denverite Classic™, "Everyone we met on the 16th Street Mall, a musical."
