“Quimbara quimbara quma quimbamba. Quimbara quimbara quma quimbamba,” was the sound welcoming attendees sang early Sunday afternoon at Charlotte’s 25th annual Latin American Festival. The two-day festival took place from Oct. 10-11.
Sounds of salsa from legend, and recent Latin Grammy nominee, Ismael Miranda entertained the crowd along with a wide variety of other bands that included the Venezuelan group, Los Crema Paraíso, a band known for its joropo style and unique riffs on guitar.
Los Crema Paraíso also performed at the RuidoFest in Chicago this summer, a festival similar to Lollapalooza but for the Latin alternative rock scene.
The real treat, though, was the return of Aterciopelados, a Colombian rock group that has won multiple Latin Grammys. Andrea Echeverri, the lead singer, paraded through the crowd during one of her songs before returning to the stage. Afterward, members from the band stayed to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.
The two-day festival saw a dramatic increase in attendees on Sunday compared to Saturday, a day that was drenched with rain and kept most people indoors. Those who attended the first day might have witnessed a shortage of vendors; however, the music did not disappoint.
Bakalao Stars opened up the evening and energized the crowd with its mix of high-energy lyrics and saxophone and electric guitar solos. World-renowned hip-hop artist and Latin Grammy winner Ana Tijoux gave the crowd a special treat after the first act, playing hits from her recent album, “Vengo,” as well as her hit single “1977,” which has been heard on the soundtrack for “Breaking Bad” and FIFA.
Panteón Rococó, a ska band that plays a unique blend of rock, salsa, jazz and other genres, headlined the event on Saturday night.
Roberto Rosales, an NC State alumnus, particularly enjoyed the vibe that Panteón gave.
“I had never really heard them before, but as the day was going on, Bakalao Stars started the night off. Then Ana Tijoux played, and was kind of mellow. Then Panteón Rococó came out and they were just on fire, rocking, getting the folks fired up,” Rosales said. “But what I really like is when they get really passionate about their country. They’re really passionate about the issues that are going on in Mexico. The fact that they’re standing up for those causes, and still showing the crowd a good time, that’s what I really liked.”
Each year, the Latin American Coalition and Latin American Women’s Association organize the event to help run its programs for the greater Charlotte metropolitan area.
“As sister organization with the Latin American coalition, we do this every year to support our programs,” said Violeta Moser, executive director of the Latin American Women’s Association. “Those programs include scholarships for college for Latino students as well as tutoring and mentoring in the public schools.”
Moser said that while every year weather is an obstacle that organizers have to battle, it has become easier to attract top talent to the festival since the festival began 25 years ago.
“Because of the many years of success with this festival, which attracted 25,000 people at its peak,” Moser said. “This is the largest festival in the Southeast region, so the artists have been hearing about this for the last five years. We also have a great leader, Tony Arreaza, and Tony is also very involved with these groups because he himself is a musician, rock band leader.”
In addition to several music groups and dance performances, many vendors such as Compare Foods and Mission were also on site to present programs available in the local community and to sell food ranging from pupusas, tacos and mangonadas to traditional Puerto Rican dishes.
