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Thanks for your loyalty… See you next year!
Thank you for making the Festival possible!
We would like to thank our “Festival Friends” that made the success of the Expo Latino possible! Your support of this festival and the artists was incredible.
A BIG THANKS TO OUR…
CORPORATE SPONSORS: South Trail Hyundai, Cochrane Nissan, and Creekside Dental Care.
GOVERNMENT SPONSORS: Alberta Foundation for the Arts, City of Calgary, Calgary Arts Development, and Canadian Heritage.
What happened this year at Expo Latino?
The first day of the festival was full of captivating acts, including amazing dancers and a powerful salsa band, Mafia Latin Power from Edmonton. To start off, the Big Fun Canada DJs started warming up the audience for a night full of dance and live music. Several presentations such as the ones by the Dance School Showcase and the Pasion Boliviana Dancers filled the night with colour and beauty. Overall, Friday’s presentations were the perfect kick-off to the three-day event.
Saturday brought many wonderful things for the festival, high-energy Zumba classes, Latin folk dance and music groups, and a number of headlining performances. The Expo Latino Zumba Crew started the day off with some dynamic Latin dance routines to get people moving. After the Zumba session, many bands and folk groups such as La Parranda, Peruvian Rhythms, Frontera Sur, Folklore Salvadoreño, Estampida Gaitera, Mi Viejo San Simon, Uno Band, Mafia Latin Power, DJ Henry, and Gisela Romero presented themselves. Not to mention the performances made by several of the festival’s headliners, which didn’t fail to surprise. The first headliner that day was Spanish musician Silvia Temis with Notas de 4, a quartet that focuses on Flamenco rhythms. Later in the night, we enjoyed Luis Enrique’s, (Prince of Salsa) performance. This Nicaraguan Salsa vocalist was one of Latin music’s first pioneers of the romantic “Salsa sensual” style. Luis Enrique’s sizeable discography has earned him 1 Grammy award, 2 Latin Grammy awards, and five Lo Nuestro Awards, in addition to numerous good and platinum records. The next headlining group was Paula Zuleta and Las Divas All Star, which is a five-piece all-girl band, lead by Latin Grammy Nominee, Colombian born singer-songwriter, Paula Zuleta. The group surprised the audience with their wide repertoire of songs, ranging from Cha Cha, Son Cubano, Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Bachata, and American Pop.
The last day of the festival had another Zumba class, presentations representing cultures all over Latin America, and four headlining performances. During the day, the festival featured folk dance performances by Dynamic Latin Soul, Raíces del Perú, the Cuban Dance Showcase, Asi es Colombia, Samba Brasil Heritage Dance Group, and Pasos de Venezuela. Our first headliner of the last day was Fiona Malena, representing Spanish culture with her passionate flamenco dance performance. Her performance brought four accomplished artists: flamenco guitarist and singer Ricardo Sanchez firm Mexico City, Dancer Anastassiia la Musa from Calgary, and violinist Jonathan Lewis, also from Calgary. Our next headliner was again, Paula Zuleta and las Divas All Star, making their second appearance for their fans who had missed out on Saturday. Our third headliner was none other than Lucy Grau, the Miami-born Disco-Salsa Queen. The audience was amazed by her breathtaking vocals and charismatic stage presence.
Starting last year, Expo Latino has been making an effort to diversify the Latin genres which are presented on stage. In 2017, Expo Latino presented Mon Laferte, a Latin Indie star, Uno Band (Latin Reggae), and Solido. This year, we brought Uno Band once again, Mango Sound (tropical dance music, funk, pop, etc.), and Los Amigos Invisibles, one of our Main Headliners. The Latin Dance band, Los Amigos Invisibles, was born of the party scene in their home town of Caracas, Venezuela. They find virtue in eclecticism and avoiding genre boundaries to create music that is, stylistically, all over the place. Their music mixes house, funk and Latin elements, disco, tropical dance tracks, classic salsa, and lounge. The audience turnout for this alternative band was spectacular, leaving them chanting, “otra” (another one), at the end of the performance. Expo Latino couldn’t have had better performances for the closing day, let alone for the weekend.
The Hispanic Arts Society would like to thank their sponsors, staff, vendors, and volunteers for their support. Their contributions are key for making events like this possible.
Thanks to all businesses and food vendors for your interest in being a part of the Expo Latino Festival. Stay tuned for 2019 Food Vendors Updates.
We look forward to seeing you at the 23rd Edition of Expo Latino on August 2019 at Prince’s Island Park!
