PALM BEACH HISPANIC BAR LAUNCHES ‘TASTE THE CULTURE’ CELEBRATION

The Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association (PBCHBA) kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month today with the inaugural Taste the Culture: A Culinary Celebration of Hispanic & Latino Cultures, bringing together 11 local restaurants to showcase the foods, traditions, and cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The event begins at 5 p.m. at the Lake Pavilion in downtown West Palm Beach.

Although presented by a Hispanic bar association, Taste the Culture is not intended to be a lawyers-only celebration. Non-lawyers may attend as guests, creating an opportunity for business owners, professionals, community leaders, and other members of the Palm Beach County community to come together for Hispanic Heritage Month.

The event was created by Angie Pagán, president of the Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association, as a way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting the diversity that exists within the Hispanic and Latino community.

“There is no single Hispanic or Latino culture, and that is exactly what makes this event so special,” Pagán said. “Our countries each have their own histories, traditions, music, art, and food. Taste the Culture allows us to bring those cultures together in one place, celebrate what makes each one unique and introduce our community to the local restaurants and business owners who keep those traditions alive here in Palm Beach County.”

Guests will be able to move from table to table and experience different cuisines and traditions — essentially traveling through Latin America and the Caribbean one country and one table at a time.

The event also puts a spotlight on the entrepreneurs behind many of the participating businesses.

For Sonia Muñoz Gallagher, a member of the PBCHBA Board of Directors and a Florida business and estate planning attorney, that component of the celebration has particular significance.

“As a business and estate planning attorney, I am especially proud that this event showcases the hardworking Hispanic and Latino business owners who are building companies, creating jobs, and creating opportunities for their families and communities,” said Muñoz Gallagher. “According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Hispanics own 36.9% of businesses in Florida. Behind that number are real people who took risks, worked extraordinarily hard, and built something they hope can create opportunity for the next generation.”

The 36.9% figure comes from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy’s 2025 Florida Small Business Profile.

For Muñoz Gallagher, the business story and the cultural story are closely connected.

“For many Latino families, a business represents far more than a source of income,” said Muñoz Gallagher. “It can represent years of sacrifice, independence, and the chance to give the next generation a better starting point. As an estate planning attorney, I see how much work goes into creating that kind of legacy. It feels especially appropriate to begin Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating both the cultures we inherited and the businesses, opportunities and legacies we are building for the generations that come after us.”

Taste the Culture also aims to highlight the diversity that can sometimes be lost when Hispanic and Latino communities are discussed as a single group.

“Being Puerto Rican is not the same as being Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Venezuelan, Mexican, Argentine, or belonging to any of the many other cultures represented in our community,” Muñoz Gallagher said. “We have a great deal that connects us, but those differences are also part of what makes our community so rich. Taste the Culture celebrates both what we share and what makes each of our cultures unique.”

September 15 marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through October 15.

The Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association hopes the inaugural event will also introduce attendees to local restaurants and entrepreneurs they may continue supporting long after Hispanic Heritage Month ends.

“We intentionally wanted this celebration to reach beyond the legal community,” said Angie Pagán. “If someone leaves having discovered a new dish, learned something about another culture or found a local restaurant they want to visit again, then this event has created a connection that lasts beyond one evening.”

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