In Spanish “fiesta” denotes the joyful activities celebrating important historical events and/or persons. These include religious holidays like Christmas fiestas honoring the birth of Jesus Christ, fiestas patronales (regional festivals dedicated to the patron saint and/or legendary protector of local communities), civic commemorations of national independence, family festivities for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other milestones. Formally, the verb “hacer fiesta” means participating in such activities with family, friends, and with the entire community for national or regional commemorations of civic or religious importance. Colloquially, hacer fiesta can refer to having casual fun and/or simply wasting time.

Numerous fiestas are observed by Latin Americans throughout the year. The large number stems primarily from the history and culture of mestizaje – the hybrid mix of Native American, European, and African peoples in the Americas –after the fifteenth century...