Mudbug Madness closes out its 40th run with its first Latino night

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — It was a busy weekend in downtown Shreveport as thousands of people gathered for Mudbug Madness. What began in 1984 as a two-day street festival has grown to be one of Louisiana’s largest and most popular crawfish festivals. This year’s Mudbug Madness was no different. Attendees enjoyed live music and, of course, lots of crawfish. The festival closed out its 40th run Sunday (March 26) with Latino night, the result of a partnership between Mudbug Madness and 318 Latino.

Growth and Community Impact

“Well, what it means for the community is growth. Shreveport-Bossier, Haughton and surrounding areas, they have been growing a lot,” said Briant Garcia, of 318 Latino and the Hispanic Heritage Association of Northwest Louisiana. “And not only they have been growing, they have been bringing a lot of the Hispanic community from different areas, from South Louisiana, from East Texas, from Arkansas. But Hispanic communities are coming here; they are building roots, they are here to stay and they are bringing a big economic impact for our community. You see places like the State Fair is doing Latino night, Mudbug Madness is doing a Latino night.”

318 Latino said events like these are especially important for the Hispanic community.