Press Release
Nov. 14, 2016
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brittany Racca
(337) 365-1540
(888) 942-3742
Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau Logo


El Festival Español
de Nueva Iberia Named
AAA Southern Traveler Treasure 
From left, McKenna Sellers (Petite Miss Spanish Festival Queen), Bentley Charles Segura (Baby Mr. Spanish Festival King), Madelyn Jade Stinson (Deb Miss Spanish Festival Queen), Paisley Elizabeth Lajaunie (Baby Miss Spanish Festival Queen) and Addison Segura (Little Miss Spanish Festival Queen).
IBERIA PARISH, La. -- Iberia Parish's El Festival Español de Nueva Iberia was recently honored by AAA Southern Traveler and named one of their Travel Treasures.

AAA Southern Traveler, read by more than 424,000 frequent travelers, features a series of four to six unique Southern attractions and events in each bi-monthly issue. Known as Travel Treasures, these attractions are selected for their appeal to typical AAA members.

The following is from the featured article:
"The French tend to get all the credit for colonizing Louisiana. But in reality, Spain's 40 years of governorship played a more significant role in the colony's prosperity, transforming a sparsely-populated military outpost into a commercial and cultural center."

New Iberia in southwest Louisiana pays homage to Spain in the annual El Festival Español de Nueva Iberia. This year's festival will be held Nov. 18-20 and features the "Running of the Bulls" 5K run and one-mile fun walk, a re-enactment of the arrival of the Spanish on Bayou Teche, a paella and tapas cook-off, genealogy displays, flamenco dancing and cemetery tours.

Festival Español was established five years ago to recognize the contributions of Spanish settlers to the region's culture. It also celebrates the 1779 founding of Nueva Iberia (New Iberia) by Spaniards and creates a cultural exchange of food, music, and art between New Iberia and the Andalusia region of Spain.

This year's festival theme focuses on Francisco Bouligny, a Spanish official who was charged in 1779 with relocating families from Spain to establish a presence in French Acadiana in which New Iberia is located. The town square is named Bouligny Plaza in his honor, and many of the festival's events will take place there.

The festival gets underway Friday night with a Spanish Gala, a ticketed event, and Saturday's events start with the run and walk at 8 a.m.

Read the article here. For details on the recognition, contact Festival Chairman Ebrar Reaux at (337) 349-7343 or joeroe@att.net. For festival information and schedule, visit NewIberiaSpanishFestival.com and 
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The Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official parish marketing agency promoting New Iberia, Avery Island, Jefferson Island, Jeanerette, Loreauville and Delcambre as a destination. Marketing programs target leisure travelers, business travelers, media, entertainment industry, and the travel trade including group tour planners, meeting planners, sports planners and special event planners. The bureau operates a parish welcome center in New Iberia.
 
For more information on parish events and tourism assets, call the bureau at 337-365-1540 or visit  IberiaTravel.com
Download the Iberia Travel App:  IberiaTravel App  

Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau
2513 Hwy 14 | New Iberia, LA | 70560
(337) 365-1540 | (888) 942-3742
www.IberiaTravel.com