FAIRMONT– Project 1590’s Celebrating Cultures committee is putting on a Hispanic Voices in Martin County panel and fiesta from 5 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 24 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fairmont.

A vast majority of the planning for the event is being done by Briana Joseph, an intern for Project 1590 through the Martin County/Minnesota Valley Action Council (MVAC) intern program.

She is a 2022 graduate of Fairmont High School and has completed her first year at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Joseph volunteered with the multi-cultural festival that took place in Fairmont a few years ago. This past spring, she applied for the internship program and shared some of her interests with MVAC’s coordinator, Tammie Hested, who spoke to her about the possibility of interning with Project 1590 in order to help put on this event.

“I’ve seen other students intern through the program before. I wanted some way to give back to the community so it seemed like the perfect fit,” Joseph said.

In addition to the internship, Joseph is also job shadowing at Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont, coaching tennis camps at Fairmont High School and working as a tutor for summer school with Fairmont Area Schools. She acknowledged that she’s busy, but said she likes it this way.

Of the event, Joseph said, “Our goal is to celebrate and share the experiences of the Hispanic population in the community.”

She said they originally thought of doing a broader cultural event, but wanted to focus on one group and the Hispanic population is the largest in the community.

“Being a former student, I noticed the demographic shift while I was in school,” Joseph said.

She shared some statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau which said that demographics in Martin County are shifting with more than a 50 percent increase in the Hispanic population from 2011 to 2021, even as the population has declined by 3.5 percent.

According to the Minnesota Department of Education, in 2012, just 121 Hispanic students were enrolled, but last year Fairmont Area Schools had more than 400 Hispanic students in grade K-12, which is more than a 235 percent increase.

While the bulk of the work she’s doing is for the panel and fiesta, Joseph is also working on creating an online storytelling platform, for which she’s been interviewing members of the Hispanic community.

“I ask them questions like, what does home mean to you, what has moving through education looked like and questions about their faith and family but also challenges that they have faced,” Joseph said.

In ending her interviews, Joseph has been asking those she interviews what their hopes are for the community.

“Every single person has a different hope or a vision. I think that gives our community action steps on what it can do to make it a more welcoming place,” Joseph said.

So far she has done 13 interviews with people of different ages and backgrounds. Joseph took four years of Spanish in high school and one year in college, in addition to studying abroad in Ecuador.

“If they’re speaking in Spanish, I can understand enough to get their stories down which has been helpful,” Joseph said.

She has also been working with Lenny Tvedten at the Martin County Historical Society.

“They were actually looking for ways to get the historical society to have more representation of the Hispanic population,” Joseph explained.

Out of that partnership, they’ve been working with the Minnesota Historical Society to get funding to get the stories put on a banner so they can be displayed at the Martin County Historical Society.

As for the panel and fiesta which will be held on Aug. 24, Joseph said they will have five or six panelists who will share their stories. As some may speak in Spanish, there will be interpreters on site at the event. The panelists include high school students, some new members to the community and some who have been here awhile.

After the panelists speak, there will be food available for purchase from Los Potrancas taco truck, as well as games, music and dancing.

“It will transition to more of a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere. We hope that will allow for casual conversations and for connections to be made,” Joseph said.

The event is free and open to the public. To fund it, Project 1590 secured a grant from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) and from the Martin County Youth Foundation.

Joseph has been working on planning for the event since late May. During her internship she’s written her first grant and presented the basics of the event to various service clubs including Rotary Club and Early Risers Kiwanis.

“Public speaking is definitely something I’ve gotten good at it. With the interviews I’ve been able to practice Spanish and develop the values of empathy and compassion and cultural competency,” Joseph said.

Speaking of the importance of the Hispanic Voices in Martin County panel and fiesta, Joseph said that in order to create an inclusive community for newcomers and neighbors, awareness needs to be created so conversations can take place.

“Before you can make a big change, you need to hear someone’s story. You can always throw statistics at someone, but understanding who they are and where they come from will change people’s minds and have a greater impact,” Joseph said.