Children the focus of cultural event in Aurora

Hundreds of families from in and around Aurora gathered under gray skies Saturday to pay tribute to their children.

The ninth annual "El Dia de los Niños," or Children's Day, featured food, live music, dancing and plenty of games and activities for the little ones. The Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board hosted the event.

Children's Day is based on a Latin American holiday designed to uplift and celebrate children and family values.

Diana Torres, chair of the advisory board, said those same goals drive the Aurora event.

"Families are so critical to the Latino culture," she said. "So we wanted to create something here that would bring parents and children together."

Though the event is geared toward Aurora's sizable Hispanic population, it is open to all. Torres said Saturday that she was happy to see more non-Hispanics at the festival than ever before.

"I love seeing that," she said. "It shows that something like this can become an event for the entire community, not just one part of it."

One change to the event this year was that mechanical carnival rides were replaced by activities that emphasized fitness: a climbing wall, a jump-rope area, strength games. The board made the change in light of growing concerns about childhood obesity across the country.

Six-year-old Susan Aguilar of Aurora didn't seem to mind. She was all smiles after a round of jump-rope.

"I can't wait to do it again," she said. "I'm going to try to jump even higher."