After humble beginnings as a five-hour pilot project by the City of Columbus in 1996, Festival Latino has become the largest Latin event in Ohio, offering a free, family-friendly celebration of family, community, and Latin American culture. Success in recent years has prompted an expansion in 2013. To be held Saturday and Sunday, August 10 and 11, the new footprint will include its original location in Genoa Park but will also stretch across the Rich Street bridge into Bicentennial Park.
Festival Latino 2013 will be headlined by Duranguense queen Diana Reyes on Saturday night and international salsa master Ruben Blades on Sunday night. Blades is making his Columbus debut. Here is the full weekend schedule for the Columbus Festival Latino 2013:
CAPA presents FESTIVAL LATINO 2013
Saturday & Sunday, August 10 & 11, 11 am – 8 pm daily
Genoa & Bicentennial Parks (downtown riverfront)
Celebrate family and community with two days of children’s activities, music, food, and dance from the heart of Latin America. Saturday night will be headlined by Duranguense queen Diana Reyes, and the Sunday night headliner will be the Columbus debut of international salsa master Ruben Blades. Admission is FREE. www.FestivalLatino.net
GENOA PARK STAGE
Saturday, August 10
12:00 pm – DJ CaLe
DJ Cale caters to Caribbean and Latin American tastes, spinning salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton, Latin pop, Latin dance, house, and a touch of American Top 40 music.
12:30 pm – B.A-Star
Richard Bastar Jr., known as B. A-Star, is a former member of the group Tercera Generation (or 3G) with his brothers, boasting the fact that they are the third generation of Bastar in the music industry. Now pursuing a solo project, B. A-Star has created a new urban dance sound.
1:00 pm – Zancudo
Local musician Victor Zancudo and his band will perform a special acoustic set of his original music which fuses Latin pop with traditional and modern rhythms.
2:30 pm – Amarfis y Su Banda de Atakke
Amarfis Aquino, Dominican vocalist and leader of merengue band La Banda de Atakke, released the group’s self-titled, debut album in 1998, generating hits such as “Los Grilleros,” which showed up on charts all over Latin America, the US, and Europe. His next albums—Caeme Atras (2000), La Revolucion del Mambo (2002), and Chillin’ (2003)—exceeded all sales expectations and generated several hits, building up a strong radio presence and making it to Billboard’s Latin Tropical Airplay charts in 2005.
4:15 pm – Los Amigos Invisibles
Los Amigos Invisibles have developed a sound based on the “gozadera” – an irresistible fusion of Latin rhythms with fiery funk and lounge music. Their 2009 release, Commercial, was awarded a Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Album, the Venezuelan band’s fifth career Grammy nomination. In their 18 years in the music business, Los Amigos Invisibles have recorded six studio albums and one live DVD/CD, toured more than 60 countries, and established their own record label.
6 pm – Diana Reyes
Mexican singer Diana Reyes, queen of “el pasito duranguense” or duranguense music, has released three certified Gold records since 2004—La Reina del Pasito Duranguense (2005), Las No. 1 de la Reina (2007), and Te Voy a Mostrar (2007). Winner of numerous awards at the national level, Reyes has competed on “Mira Quién Baila,” the Spanish-language version of “Dancing with the Stars;” was the first woman and the first artist of Mexican descent to perform on “IN-STUDIO,” a Univision showcase of new artists; and was a featured celebrity on “Latinas VIP,” the first Spanish-language reality series of its kind.
Sunday, August 11
12:00 pm – DJ CaLe
DJ Cale caters to Caribbean and Latin American tastes, spinning salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton, Latin pop, Latin dance, house, and a touch of American Top 40 music.
12:30 pm – B.A-Star
Richard Bastar Jr., known as B. A-Star, is a former member of the group Tercera Generation (or 3G) with his brothers, boasting the fact that they are the third generation of Bastar in the music industry. Now pursuing a solo project, B. A-Star has created a new urban dance sound.
1:00 pm – Konde Norteño
The five members of Columbus-based Konde Norteño integrate different regions of Mexico into their Norteño music, performing both classic and modern songs of the genre.
2:30 pm – Enrique Infante
Singer, songwriter, and musician Enrique Infante fronts the Latin fusion rhythms band, Déjà Vu. Recipient of a 2010 “Premio Orgullo Peruano” (Peruvian Pride Award), Enrique’s song “Colors of Columbus” was selected as one of the winners for the “200Columbus in Song Contest.” He released his second album Canciones Ajenas (Other People’s Songs) in 2012.
4 pm – Karlos Rosé
Dominican artist Karlos Rosé is a songwriter and guitarist known for his fusion of music genres such as R&B, pop, Bachata, and urban. His 2012 debut single, a Bachata cover of Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are,” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart and stayed in the top 20 for more than 20 consecutive weeks. His follow-up single, “Infiel” (“Infidel”), debuted at #9 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. Rosé’s full-length album Géminis (Gemini) will be released in 2013.
5:30 pm – Ruben Blades
Panama-born Ruben Blades has recorded landmark albums in classic Afro-Cuban salsa as well as Afro-Cuban music touched with rock, jazz, pan-Latin, and other influences from around the world. He has earned 10 Grammy Awards, as well as a Cable ACE Award and Emmy, Independent Spirit, and ALMA nominations for his acting. He has been honored with the ASCAP Founders Award, the Grammy Recording Academy’s Heroes Award, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s arts award, and the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors’ Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award.
BICENTENNIAL PARK STAGE
Saturday, August 10
12:00 pm – Watch a taekwondo exhibition given by instructor Enrique Infante and a few intermediate students from the Columbus-based Centro Esperanza Latina and Infante Taekwondo School.
2:00 pm – Local Latin fusion artist Enrique Infante will host an interactive hour for children in which they can sing along with traditional Hispanic songs, listen to short stories about Latin American culture, and join a drum circle.
3:00 pm – Dayton-area dance company Grupo Caribe will hold a demonstration of the dances of Puerto Rico.
3:30 pm – So cold, it’s hot! Join COSI for their live, liquid oxygen show and learn more about one of the coldest liquids on earth and the amazing things it can do.
4:00 pm – Zumba Fitness with Esperanza Elliott and Just Dance Ohio
5:30 pm – Toledo-based dance company El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico will demonstrate the beauty and charm of traditional Mexican dances. www.ElCorazonDeMexicoDance.com
Sunday, August 11
11:00 am – Alejandra Ferrer will hold a children’s drumming circle featuring traditional Hispanic music.
1:00 pm – Toledo-based dance company El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico will demonstrate the beauty and charm of traditional Mexican dances. www.ElCorazonDeMexicoDance.com
3:00 pm – Learn salsa from Columbus’ first and only salsa dance studio, the Salsamante Dance Academy. www.salsamante.com
3:30 pm – So cold, it’s hot! Join COSI for their live, liquid oxygen show and learn more about one of the coldest liquids on earth and the amazing things it can do.
4:00 pm – Toledo-based dance company El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico will demonstrate the beauty and charm of traditional Mexican dances. www.ElCorazonDeMexicoDance.com