The idea
Carnaval del Pueblo 22 will present a FREE, vibrant and colourful Latin American comeback event for all the family. Expect live music, dance and food on the Great Lawn in Burgess Park, London SE5 0RJ.
The event will be inclusive, accessible, and open to all. It will bring together the South London community and Latin Londoners presenting authentically costumed performances, arts and crafts, Plaza Latina food village and 2 bars that celebrate Latin American culture.
Main Stage: Colombian legend Javier Vásquez and his orchestra playing hits from their Grupo Niche and Son de Cali youth days. Terapia Latina (Italy) and the best of London's Latin American musical and dance talent.
Salsa Dance Marquis: With its own sound system, all day salsa dance workshops and free style led by the Salsateca instructors (Elder Sanchez).
PLUS! Childrens' activities and face painting led by Enzo Recreation; Funfair; Mural Painting with Abraham Osorio; Ice cream vans.
What we'll deliver
- Free day-long authentic Latin American music, dance, arts and gastronomic event for all the family
- Festival infrastructure (stage, sound system, fencing, toilets, gazebos, first aid, clean up)
- Festival security
- Festival artists
- Festival volunteers
Why it's a great idea
The festival is a rare and important opportunity to come together as a community and celebrate la vida! This is more important than ever in the post-pandemic landscape. Among the festival's benefits are:
- Community cohesion
- Health and wellbeing of participants and attendees
- Showcase for up and coming artists
- Kick start for micro-businesses in challenging circumstances
- Quality family time
- Celebrating cultural heritage and sharing it the wider community
- Volunteering opportunities
Steps to get it done
- Communicate success to Southwark Council
- Pay all required deposits and payments to ensure full infrastructure
- Stall holders and artists present on the day
- Media promotion on all platforms – TV, Radio, Social Media – developed announcing success of the Spacehive appeal
The video above is a collection of clips from Carnaval's glory days, when we had up to 130,000 attendees! The comeback festival this year will be smaller, with an expected 2000 people at any given point. This will act as a springboard to build the festival up again in the years ahead.
Main image credit: Nick Sidle, Heartstone Chandra. Image: D997123 Plaza Latina Festival.
