This Year at Festival Latino
By Meg Berno
Posted On: Aug 6, 2018
Produced by CAPA for the past 10 years, Festival Latino has become the largest Latin event in Ohio, celebrating family and community with two days of music, food, children’s activities, fashion, art, and dance from the heart of Latin America. Drawing folks from around the country, this free, family-friendly event has something for everyone, but no celebration is complete without these three elements, and Festival Latino knows how to do them right:
Music
Festival Latino features live music performances from a variety of Ohio-based Latin bands as well as international Latin touring artists, representing a sampling of the wide array of cultures and music genres within Latin America. In 2018, Festival headliners include the NYC-based youths, Típico Urbano (Dominican merengue); eight-time Austin Music Award winner and 2015 Austin Musician of the Year, singer/songwriter Gina Chavez (Mexican folk); Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Lupillo Rivera (Mexican Banda); "The Prince of Bachata," singer Frank Reyes (Dominican bachata); and the ultimate grand finale, El Gran Combo, one of the most successful salsa orchestras of all time (Puerto Rico).
Food
Festival Latino offers a broad selection of food vendors cooking up the rich flavors of Latin America right before your eyes. Panaderia Oaxaqueña (Mexican), Barroluco (Argentinian), Caribe Sur (Caribbean), Rancho Mateo (Colombian), and Antojitos Criollos (Puerto Rican), to name just a few, will be on site to sample and savor. And if you’re not the adventurous type when it comes to food, there are plenty of traditional options as well.
Dancing
The dance plaza at Festival Latino showcases Ohio-based, Latin dance groups that perform and/or teach the dances of Latin America. El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico will perform traditional Mexican dances throughout the weekend, and Salsamante Dance Academy will demonstrate salsa. In addition, Carlos Rubio, “The Salsa King of Ohio,” will be offering free, on-site salsa instruction so you can join the party!
