Festival Latino to celebrate culture and community in Columbus: What to know to go
To be sure, Columbus is home to people from many countries and cultures, but what some folks aren't aware of is the diversity within each of those cultures.
For example, someone who converses in Canarian Spanish might sound as foreign to a Mexican Spanish speaker as Greek would to a German. A Mexican American from Texas will have some different traditions than a Mexican American raised in California. One family's traditional meal could be ropa vieja, while another may feast on arroz con gandules.
In other words, people of Latino heritage are not a monolith, and that fact will be displayed live and in living color this weekend at Festival Latino in Genoa Park. Produced by Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), the two-day event is free to attend.
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"One of the things that CAPA ensured at the very beginning is that that festival committee was diverse," said festival chair Ramona Reyes, who also sits on CAPA's board of trustees. "There are people from Venezuela, Ecuador, Central America and so on.
"CAPA made sure it was a Latino community festival by getting different people's perspectives, even down to the musicians, and making sure as many voices were included as possible."
That's why attendees at the festival will see all manners of dancing from merengue and salsa to Mexican folklorico, and hear a medley of music including cumbia, Puerto Rican swing, Tejano and the popular stylings of official festival tune-spinner DJ Cale.
Of course, no festival is completo without food — and there will be a veritable melting pot of cuisines from many cultures at Festival Latino. More than 40 food vendors will be onsite, according to Rich Corsi, vice president of programming for CAPA, who likened the event to a "massive family reunion."
Corsi said, weather permitting, the festival is likely to attract more than 100,000 visitors over its two-day run. If you're planning to be one of them, there's a lot to know about Festival Latino before you head to the park to get your fiesta on!
When and where is Festival Latino?
The festival, which is in its 26th year, will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Genoa Park, 303 W. Broad St.
The evening before the festival, there will be a kickoff dance party from 6-9 p.m. at Lower.com Field's Community Plaza. Note: The Lower.com Field bag policy will be in place during this event.
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How much is admission to the festival?
There's no charge to get in. In addition to celebrating Latino culture, the fest aims to make the arts accessible to all. "You can't get any more accessible than a free festival," Corsi said.
What's new this year?
While the small-business area is a returning feature, the businesses that will be introduced are new to the festival and the Columbus community.
Among this year's new food, service and merchandise vendors will be nine participants in the Mercadito Raíces program at Our Lady of Guadalupe Center, 409 Industry Drive, where Reyes is the director. She explained that El Mercadito Raices is a program developed with Small Business Development Centers to assist Latino businesses through all the steps needed to prepare and launch a successful sales strategy at community events.
"We've had past fledgling vendors who went through this program as startups but are now (regular) food vendors," Corsi said.
What's on the menu?
Hungry festivalgoers will be able to munch on delights ranging from baked goods to barbacoa. "There will be foods from Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia and many other countries," Reyes said.
"We're ensuring that we have that diversity, but also ensuring we have the American staples, including festival-type foods like lemon shake-ups and cotton candy, because we want to make sure that individuals know this is a celebration of Latino culture, but also that everyone is welcome."
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Who's making music at Festival Latino?
Throughout each day, DJ Cale will cater to tastes including salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton, Latin pop and dance, with a touch of American Top 40 tunes.
The lineup of performers will feature Ale Almanza, originally from Colombia; Columbus-based Venezuelan singer Victor Zancudo; salsa artist Alex Matos from the Dominican Republic; cumbia ensemble Los Yaguaru from Mexico; Los Borirengues del Swing, also based in Columbus; Venezuelan “romántica” salsa band Adolescentes Orquestra; Dominican meregue vocalist Eddy Herrera; and the Latin Fever All Stars, a group of performers from the Caribbean and different countries in Latin America.
For a schedule of performance times, go to festivallatino.net/schedule,
I love to dance, but I have two left feet. Help!
Don't fret — you can learn to move those clumsy feet to the beat by visiting the Dance Tent, where Carlos Rubio, also known as “The Salsa King of Ohio," will be giving lessons. Rubio is an instructor at the Salsamante Dance Academy in Dublin and an award-winning salsa dancer.
To see a schedule of dance lesson and performance times, click the Dance Plaza link under "Plan Your Visit" at festivallatino.net.
How can shopaholics get their fix at the fest?
Hand-painted crafts, wood carvings, makeup, folk art, sculptures, clothing and other items made from alpaca wool, hats, jewelry, handbags, flags, dominoes and a wealth of other merchandise will be sold in the festival Marketplace.
Is this a kid-friendly event?
It sure is! Besides music, dancing and food, little ones can enjoy kids' activities like arts and crafts, science demonstrations by COSI, balloon animals and more.
To find out more details about Festival Latino, visit festivallatino.net.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What you need to know to go to Festival Latino in Genoa Park
