A Warm Hug for Our Latino Community

Hi community, Jorge here with the last article of 2025.

December is here, and it is bringing all its joy.This month always touches our hearts, especially for those of us who grew up in cultures where this season is lived with music, food, neighbours, fireworks, and the entire neighbourhood celebrating as one big family. Back home, people pull their chairs out onto the sidewalk, kids run around freely, you smell tamales or hallacas in the air, and there’s always a hug waiting for you.

Arriving in Canada, where winter is strong, very cold, dark, and completely different, can surprise us and wake up a deep nostalgia. That’s why this message is for our entire Latino community in the Okanagan: your culture travels with you, your joy and the way you celebrate enrich this valley, and you are not alone.

Here, far from our homes, the rituals change. The cold keeps us indoors, the streets are quiet, and families are spread out across long distances. And yet, December still feels the same in the heart: we remember our roots, our people, our traditions. It’s normal to miss home. It’s normal to feel that little emptiness in your chest that only a familiar voice, a home-cooked dish, or a song from our countries can soothe. But it’s exactly in this mix of nostalgia and hope that our community becomes even more important, our second family.

Fortunately, the Okanagan already has small but strong spaces where the Latino community gathers, supports each other, and celebrates. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, or any other corner of Latin America. Here, we all understand what it means to be far from home and what it means to find someone “from your side of the world.” Latin Voices has opened doors for cultural gatherings and groups like Latinos en Penticton y el Sur del Okanagan, Latinos Kelowna, Latinos en Vernon y el grupos de What’s App como Kelowna Latina help people find friendships or simply advice and also,  Kelowna has events where you can hear Latin music, share food, or simply talk to someone who understands you without needing explanations.

If this December you feel like connecting, here are a few starting points in Kelowna that can help you feel a little closer to home:

Community events and spaces to search on Google in December 2025:

• Latin Voices Society, cultural and community activities open to the entire Latino community in the valley.

• Local Facebook groups, such as Kelowna Events, Latinos en Kelowna, and gatherings announced by local Latin restaurants.

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And little by little, Latinos in the Okanagan are building new traditions far from home. Maybe we no longer celebrate in the streets with the whole neighbourhood, but we celebrate together in new ways. This December, if you miss home, seek community. If you feel alone, reach out. There are many of us here, and the beautiful thing is that when one Latino meets another, the distance feels just a little bit lighter.

May this Christmas find you accompanied, hopeful, warm in body and in spirit, and surrounded by new friendships that remind you that even far away, we are still family.

Thank you for being with us and for reading our articles all the way through. This community exists because of people like you, people who believe, support, and share. From the heart, thank you. We’ll see you next year with more content created with love for the Latino community of the Okanagan.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad!!