{"id":260062,"date":"2026-08-06T02:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T02:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/260062\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T02:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T02:18:09","slug":"cemita-festival-returns-to-philly-celebrating-pueblas-iconic-sandwich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/260062\/","title":{"rendered":"Cemita Festival returns to Philly celebrating Puebla’s iconic sandwich"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Sunday, Aug. 9, Cantina la Martina<\/a> will once again bring together chefs, artists, and food lovers for the 4th Annual Cemita Festival, a celebration dedicated to Puebla\u2019s popular sandwich.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festivities will take place at The Garden Center<\/a>, 1825 Frankford Ave., located across from Mural City Cellars, and will feature six restaurants from across the region, each offering a distinctive interpretation of the traditional Mexican bite.<\/p>\n

Although Cantina la Martina\u2019s Kensington<\/a> location closed in November 2025, the restaurant has been continuing service through a series of events, pop-ups, and collaborations across Philly, and the Cemita Festival remains a cornerstone of that mission.<\/p>\n

A classic cemita is built on a sesame-seeded roll and typically layered with quesillo (Oaxacan cheese), p\u00e1palo, avocado, and a flavorful filling. While honoring those essential elements, this year\u2019s participating chefs will showcase their own creativity to make their own unique take on the dish.<\/p>\n

Festival guests can try out Cantina la Martina\u2019s Cemita de Lengua, featuring beef tongue; Gilda\u2019s El Antonio, made with a housemade green chorizo; and Vientiane Bistro\u2019s Lao Sausage Cemita, combining an Angus beef patty, quesillo, lettuce, and smoky jeow Mak Len tomato sauce. Additional offerings include Bolo\u2019s Tripleta Cemita with pernil, country ham and bacon; Cinteotl Tamalli\u2019s traditional Cemita de Carnitas with slow-cooked carnitas; and Cuatro Soles\u2019 classic version featuring breaded chicken milanesa.<\/p>\n

Each cemita will be available for $16 and can be purchased directly from the participating restaurant vendors. The festival is pay-as-you-go (no tickets are required), and guests are encouraged to bring cash, as some vendors will be cash only. Beverages will be available for purchase from Mural City Cellars, and DJ Cali Rumba will also provide music throughout the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Beyond the food, the festival will additionally highlight Mexican and Latin American culture through live performances, art, and community experiences<\/a>. Danza Tonantzin Cultural, a Mexican folkloric dance group founded by Pamela Plata, will perform traditional dances from the state of Sinaloa at 2 p.m., including Pato Asado and Toro Mambo. Guests can also enjoy pay-as-you-go face painting from noon to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

Wilde & Lovely<\/a>, the creative collaboration of Chris and Liana Calabrese, will also join the festival as a vendor, offering Mexican silver jewelry, traditional Colombian hats, accessories, and vintage items inspired by Latin culture.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival will also introduce the first-ever Cemita Festival Passport, giving guests a new way to experience the event. Visitors who purchase all six festival cemitas and one beverage from Mural City Cellars, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, can complete their passport and enter a prize drawing. The prize package includes $25 gift cards to Cantina on the Go Jenkintown, Vientiane Bistro, Gilda, and Bolo; a bottle of Mural City Cellars ros\u00e9; two complimentary glasses of wine for a future visit to Mural City Cellars; and a jar of Sunny\u2019s Chili Oil from Vientiane Bistro. Note, the winner does not need to be present to receive the prize.<\/p>\n

For more information\u00a0 on Cantina la Martina’s 2026 Cemitas Festival, visit cantinalamartinapa.com<\/a><\/p>\n

MORE: Dine Latino Passport invites visitors to explore Latino culture<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tCemita Festival,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Cantina la Martina,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Philadelphia food,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Mexican food,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Puebla,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Food festivals,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Kensington Philadelphia,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Mural City Cellars,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Philadelphia events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Things to do in Philadelphia\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This Sunday, Aug. 9, Cantina la Martina will once again bring together chefs, artists, and food lovers for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[45209,110362,104585,49409,12106,110364,69,53163,95395,71,70,110363,69783],"class_list":["post-260062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-cantina-la-martina","tag-cemita-festival","tag-food-festivals","tag-kensington-philadelphia","tag-mexican-food","tag-mural-city-cellars","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-events","tag-philadelphia-food","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-puebla","tag-things-to-do-in-philadelphia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}