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A fiesta in February where everyone in the town would don masks and horns; in May, a gathering where the young girls would sing to the cross for nine days.
And then there was palo en seuao where participants would attempt to scale a greased pole, "sliding down on top of each other and trying to claw their way back up," Oritz said.
But they also remembered the harder side of life — washing clothes and cleaning neighbors' houses at age 10 to supplement the family income.
"It's very important that children know where they came from, where their mother came from, where their grandmother came from," Oritz said.
At Ramos' insistence, all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren speak both English and Spanish.
"We're still Puerto Rican," the two women said.
The festival, in its 27th year at San Juan Bautista Catholic Church, 425 S. Duke St., celebrates Hispanic culture with rides, Latin music, carnival games and ethnic food.
"It's a wonderful event to build unity within our parish and within the Latino community," Father Allan Wolfe said.
"And it's a chance to share the richness of these cultures with the wider population."
The church has a congregation of 5,000, representing 19 Latin countries, Wolfe said.
This year the festival expanded to neighboring Rockland Street to double the space for rides.
Still, the emphasis of the evening seemed to be the food.
And oh was there food.
A worldly collection of stands — representing Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador — dished out traditional delights to eager customers.
Juanita Perez labored over empanadillas at the Dominican Republic booth, cooking the traditional cuisine in hot oil. Perez spent the past three weeks preparing and freezing 1,700 empanadillas for the event.
Her other specialty? Mangü, made with mashed plantains, butter and sautéed onions.
"There isn't one day that goes by without her cooking," her son, Solomon Silva, 23, said. Solomon and his brothers Sammy, 26, and Saul, 24, helped their mother at the event.
Wednesday night's festival brought together families from across the city and county.
Milzy and Ricardo Carrasco, of Manheim Township, brought their daughters Melany, 9, and Kaily, 7, to enjoy the festivities.
With a mother from Puerto Rico and a father from the Dominican Republic, both girls have a strong identification as Latin-Americans, they said.
"We eat rice every night of the week," said Kaily.
"We celebrate Christmas, but then after New Years, we celebrate the Three Wise Men by putting water, tobacco and hay under the bed."
Milzy believes the Hispanic Cultural Festival at San Juan Bautista is important for her daughters because it is the last of its kind in the county.
"It's their culture and who they are."
The festival will continue from 6 to 10 p.m. today, 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. For more information, call 392-4118.
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