LYNN — Estefani’s Restaurant hosted its first event celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month on Wednesday night, a pupusa eating contest where contestants had 10 minutes to eat an 18-inch pupusa that weighed about 10 pounds.
Ten contestants entered the competition at the Union street restaurant, with entrants ranging from nine years old to 50, trying to eat the pizza-sized pupusa – traditional to El Salvador – that was stuffed with cheese, chicharrón, and beans.
While nobody finished the entire pupusa, the person who ate the most got first place, receiving a $100 gift card and Estefani’s apparel as well as a first-place trophy.
“I wanted to do something exciting because it’s National Hispanic Heritage Month and I felt that the city needed a little bit more exposure,” Estefani’s owner Estefani Orellana-Garcia said in an interview Thursday. “It’s awesome because it’s like ‘wow, yesterday was a Wednesday and we had a full house.”
This was the first of many events Estefani’s has planned to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Next Thursday night, the restaurant is hosting a Selena night, in honor of Latina music sensation Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, where someone will be dressed as Selena while singing her famous songs.
When planning this event, Orellana-Garcia posted to Facebook searching for people who sing and sound like Selena. After getting multiple submissions, Orellana-Garcia decided to have her cousin fly in from Chicago to headline the shows.
In addition to having a singer, Orellana-Garcia encourages guests to dress as Selena and will open the mic up to anyone who wants to sing.
“It’d be kind of like a performance/karaoke night,” Orellana-Garcia said. “I’m also thinking of giving a prize to the best-dressed Selena.”
There will be two shows, one from 7 to 9:15 p.m. and the other from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold on Eventbrite.
In addition to a Selena night, Orellana-Garcia is planning a Mexican Bingo night in October, with a date still to be determined.
While this is the first year Estefani’s has hosted events for National Hispanic Heritage Month, Orellana-Garcia said she has had this in mind for years but hasn’t been able to implement anything because of the pandemic.
“This is our first COVID-free year without all these restrictions,” she said. “We’re not only a restaurant – we’re here to try to provide an experience for everyone that’s different.”
With people coming from all over, Orellana-Garcia said she loves being able to provide people with a good time and great memories. She has met people in her restaurant from London, New York, California, Miami, and Canada who have said they had people tell them they need to try Estefani’s when they are in the area.
“It’s amazing,” she said.
Orellana-Garcia hopes to continue these events next year for Hispanic Heritage Month, but she said she plans to add a Hispanic Food Tour in partnership with other local restaurants.
“People could buy tickets and have a walking tour of different establishments and get a certain dish,” she said. “It would be really cool to do next year… I’m friends with a lot of the restaurant owners too. I know there are a lot of Central American restaurants in the area, but for me, I don’t look at them as competition, we look at each other as allies.”
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
