BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After drawing hundreds of leaders to Pittsburgh last week, the PA Latino Convention has announced that next year’s event will be closer to the epicenter.
Returning to the region for the first time since 2022, the PA Latino Convention, or PALC, announced Easton as the host city for 2026 — spotlighting the Lehigh Valley's large and diverse Latino community.
The PA Latino Convention 2025, now in its eighth year, was held Sept. 25-27 at the Wyndham Grand in Pittsburgh.
The convention, which takes place during the middle of National Hispanic Heritage Month, draws Latino leaders from the commonwealth to share ideas and network.
About 700 people attended.
As organizers of the convention noted, the Latino population is one of the fastest-growing in the state — and also the youngest (the median age among Latinos is 27, versus 44 among whites).
PALC Committee members include President Norman Bristol Colón, Vice Chairwoman Olga Negrón, and Senior Content Advisor Dr. Damary Bonilla-Rodriguez.
At the convention, several leaders from the Lehigh Valley addressed issues during panel discussions on housing, voter issues, education, mental health and civil rights in relation to Latinos and immigration.
PALC also featured a Hispanic College Fair, mercadito (or market) offering state resources and vendors selling artisan goods, plus an author's corner.
Workshops on housing
Among the panel discussions Friday was the "Challenges and Opportunities for a Latino Housing Agenda," with guest speakers Julio Guridy and Fred Bañuelos, Community Investment and Business Development Manager at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.
For Guridy — executive director of Allentown Housing Authority, president of Casa Guadalupe Center and executive director of Blueprint Communities Allentown — the turnout at the housing workshop was proof of just how urgent the problem has become.
“We thought we’d have just a handful of people. But the room was packed."Julio Guridy, executive director of Allentown Housing Authority
“We thought we’d have just a handful of people,” Guridy said Monday. “But the room was packed. It turned out to be one of the most attended sessions of the entire convention.”
The panel discussion focused on the rising cost of housing not only in Allentown but across Pennsylvania, with the Lehigh Valley experiencing some of the sharpest increases.
For Latinos living in Allentown — Pennsylvania’s third-largest city — the housing crisis is especially acute.
According to Guridy, rents for one-bedroom apartments in Allentown now average more than $1,000 a month, while two-bedrooms often exceed $1,600 — prices that far outpace local wages.
Through his work with Blueprint Communities, a program funded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and supported by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, Guridy has helped coordinate efforts to address affordability.
“Housing prices have more than doubled in Allentown in the past two decades,” he said. “For families living paycheck to paycheck, the market is increasingly out of reach.”
A chance to network
Beyond housing, Guridy emphasized that the PA Latino Convention serves as a way to discuss other issues affecting the Latino community — education, voter rights and workforce development.
“The Latino community in Pennsylvania is still too often disenfranchised, and events like the convention are about making sure people have access to the information, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.”Julio Guridy, executive director of Allentown Housing Authority
“When I go to the convention, it’s not just about presenting information," he said. "It’s about networking, brainstorming, and finding solutions together as a community.
“The Latino community in Pennsylvania is still too often disenfranchised, and events like the convention are about making sure people have access to the information, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.”
During one panel, Guridy said, he was inspired by Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San José, a Pittsburgh-based community center that offers social services, healthcare support and immigrant rights advocacy.
Ruiz described a digital literacy program that the center developed.
The initiative, which now supports about 35 staff members, teaches participants basic computer skills.
Graduates of the program not only receive a free laptop but also job placement assistance if they are seeking work.
In his role at Casa Guadalupe, which soon will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new technology center, Guridy said he hopes to adapt a similar program at the center at 218 N. Second St.
"I think it’s something we could really develop here," he said. "The technology center is primarily for youth. But we may be able to do it as an intergenerational program for seniors, too."
PALC in Easton for 2026
Easton City Administrator Luis Campos said the Pittsburgh convention was a great learning opportunity, and was enthused to share the news about next year’s event.
"Coupled with the fact that Easton has come back so far this century in terms of where it was in the second half of the last century, we want to celebrate that diversity by welcoming the Latino Convention.”Luis Campos, City Administration Easton
“It was great to go out there and make the announcement that the city of Easton was going to host next year’s convention, with our diverse population and large Latino community, not only in Easton, but the Lehigh Valley,” Campos, who is chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, said.
“And coupled with the fact that Easton has come back so far this century in terms of where it was in the second half of the last century, we want to celebrate that diversity by welcoming the Latino Convention.”
Information from Data USA shows 24.5% of Easton residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.
The last time the Latino Convention was held in the Lehigh Valley was in 2022, in Allentown.
For information on the PA Latino Convention, visit the PALC website.
