The color, joy, warmth and creativity of the Latino community was displayed in all its splendor in the 34th edition of the Latin American Festival, which was held for the first time this year at Ballantyne's Backyard.
El summer weather and the park's location in the heart of the exclusive Ballantyne's neighborhood south of Charlotte, contributed to the event attracting more than 14,000 people, making it the largest festival in its more than four-decade history.
You may be interested:
Hispanic Heritage Festival shines at Shakori Hills Art in Pittsboro
Latin American Festival, exceeds all expectations
Edwin Gil, Head of Development for the Latin American Coalition, organizer of the event, expressed his gratitude and excitement for the success achieved this year, which exceeded his expectations.
“As a Charlotte resident for over 24 years, it was exciting to see how the 34th Latin American Festival brought together over 14,000 people this year, celebrating our roots, culture and traditions. This festival is a living example of how we continue to strengthen our legacy for future generations, while contributing to the cultural development of our beloved Queen City,” Gil told Enlace Latino NC .
The Latin American Festival is part of Hispanic Heritage Month, which began on September 15 and runs through October 15, and was also part of the Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF), organized by Blumenthal Arts.
A look at each country in the Latin American Plaza
People of all ages and nationalities enjoyed a variety of artistic and cultural performances that began at 12:30 pm with the flag parade representing the 19 countries participating in the festival.
The parade took place in the middle of the Latin American Plaza with its “cultural villages,” where each country decorated its space with the most representative elements of its culture, music, sweets and crafts, as well as musical instruments and traditional games for the little ones to interact with.
Participating countries included representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, which was participating for the first time, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Uruguay.
“The participation of the people in the Plaza was impressive, seeing people of all nationalities, not only Latinos, but many Americans, and people of all cultures who were interested in getting to know each of the countries,” he told Enlace Latino NC , María Fernanda Robles, events coordinator of the organization.
Related: The 2025 United Cultures Festival arrives in Marion: resilience and culture after Helene
An afternoon of music and folklore
It was an afternoon full of music and performances by folkloric dance groups that expressed the identity of their countries through their costumes and choreography, from Colombian cumbia, Chilean cueca, Andean huayno, Brazilian samba, to Aztec dances that, to the sound of drums and the ancestral clothing of the dancers, captured the attention of all those present.
Velasco thrills an international audience
At around 6:00 pm, people continued to arrive at Ballantyne's Backyard, with chairs and blankets to watch performances by renowned singers such as Ecuadorian Juan Fernando Velasco and Dominican Eddy Herrera.
Velasco thrilled audiences not only in his country but also of different nationalities who sang along to his rhythmic ballads such as “A Tu Lado” and “Chao Lola.”
Velasco is the “most prominent pop artist of the last 25 years in his country,” according to the Latin American Coalition.
“It was nice to see all those flags, all those nationalities, finally here everything mixes and we are one. I feed off the energy of the people, the spirit and the drive that all Latinos have in this country, I have also been an immigrant. I only have gratitude, because the public was hooked on the show and on the songs, singing them.” This is what Velasco told Enlace Latino NC.
Herrera makes everyone dance merengue
For his part, Dominican Eddy Herrera got the hundreds of attendees who filled the esplanade in front of the stage dancing merengue.
Herrera is a 7-time Cassandra Award winner and was awarded the Latin Grammy for Best Merengue and Bachata Album in 2020.
The Dominican who joined the public also received recognition from José Hernández París, executive director of the Latin American Coalition.
Republish our stories for free on your website or newspaper. We follow the Creative Commons license. Click the box and follow the instructions.
