Latino Arts Festival celebrates a decade of cultural representation

Beneath clear blue skies and a warm summer sun, visitors wandered through rows of artisan booths at Canyons Village while the sounds of Latin America echoed through the plaza.

Flags representing countries from across Latin America fluttered above the crowd as they walked towards the festival area. Families gathered around food vendors enjoying flavors new to some and nostalgic to others, while artists shared stories behind their work. Children decorated tiles, made custom prints and participated in interactive art installations. 

For many attendees, the return of the Mercadito — featuring artists and artisans from Utah and beyond — was one of the highlights of the weekend. There, people could discover a new art piece for their space, select a piece of jewelry that spoke to them, learn the story behind a colorful garment or simply eat a really good empanada.

Since its inception in 2016, the Latino Arts Festival has been a space for artists, vendors, performers and community members to celebrate the richness of Latin American culture that continues to shape Park City along with the broader state and United States as a whole.

The 10 year milestone of the event, participants said, arrives at a time when many Latino communities across the country face uncertainty and division. Throughout the weekend, however, artists and performers returned to a common message: Culture matters, representation matters and sharing traditions creates understanding rather than separation.

“It's very important right now to bring awareness to what's happening with Latinos,†Chilean artist Elissa Sabbö said. “Latinos are a big part of this community and this country.â€

A returning artist whose work explores her Chilean roots, womanhood and personal experiences, Sabbö said events like the Latino Arts Festival create opportunities for people to learn from one another.

“It's important not to forget mutual appreciation, community, respecting one another and loving one another,†she said. “We're all brothers and sisters.â€

She believes cultural events help people experience perspectives different from their own.

“It's important right now to be part of this and see different cultures,†she said. “To keep an open mind and, more than anything, forget the hate.â€

For artists participating at the festival, those conversations often begin one person at a time.

“It's one of my favorite events of the year,†said artist Leon Araujo, who was participating for the third time. “For Latinos especially, having a space like this is incredible.â€

A multidisciplinary artist whose work spans photography, murals, digital illustration and even paintings created with coffee, Araujo said the festival gives him the freedom to openly celebrate his heritage.

“I'm encouraged and supported to really show my culture and be my most authentic self,†he said.

Just as important, he said, is the opportunity to connect with people from different regions and backgrounds.

“I'm such a big fan of diversity and an exchange of cultures,†Araujo said speaking about meeting others from different areas of the same country. “I'm from Mexico, and I get to meet people from Chihuahua or Oaxaca and all over the place. I get to see the differences and the similarities that we all have.â€

That spirit of connection could be found throughout the marketplace over the course of the weekend.

Brazilian artist and architect Fabiola Noschang described the festival's energy as her favorite part. The event, she said, is a place where different cultures come together through shared experiences.

“It's the music and the dance and the culture that brings everyone together in the arts,†Noschang said. “But it's about the energy of the Latin community that sparks this beautiful unity and friendship.â€

Participating in the festival carries special meaning for Noschang, who said Brazilians can sometimes feel disconnected from the broader Latin American community because of language differences.

She believes events like the Latino Arts Festival strengthen community while also helping visitors better understand their neighbors and become more integrated as human beings.

“They see that they feel good about it and they enjoy learning about Latin culture,†she said. “I think that awareness is important.â€

For multimedia artist Pablo Ayala, the festival provides another important opportunity: storytelling.

“My experience here at the Latino Art Fest has really been about networking and connecting to the community at large and making sure people understand that our culture is a much richer experience than they might think,†Ayala said.

His artwork largely explores identity and immigration. In recent work, he's have explored transformation through materials that react differently depending on light and surface conditions. Ayala sees a connection between that artistic process and the immigrant experience.

“These paintings are different paintings in different lights,†he explained, holding one of their pieces up to the sun. “I think that reflects a lot of immigrant values — how we change ourselves in different lights. We're different people in different circumstances.â€

As an immigrant himself, Ayala said the festival is a reminder that no one has to navigate those experiences alone. 

While visual artists filled the Mercadito, dancers and musicians brought the main stage to life throughout the weekend.

Many attendees also arrived wearing national team jerseys as the festival coincided with the opening days of the FIFA World Cup, creating a colorful display of pride, identity and connection that stretched beyond the stage. On Saturday evening, a sea of yellow and green filled the lawn for a watch party of the Brazil versus Morocco match, one of the ways organizers acknowledged the importance of the sport in Latin American culture.

The festival's performances included the participation of Chilean folk ensemble Bafodach, which presented dances from multiple regions of Chile, including the Rapa Nui culture of Easter Island.

Bolivian group Somos Bolivia shook the stage with their captivating traditional dances including Caporales and Diablada.

Flowing, colorful skirts swept across the stage as members of Ballet Folklórico Quetzalcóatl performed dances representing Mexico. The large ensemble filled the stage with energy and pride, closing their performance to “México en la Piel,†whose chorus proclaims, “Así se siente México†— “This is how Mexico feels.â€

“I love dancing and representing my country,†said dancer Milene Montalvo of Veracruz, Mexico. “It's a way to share my culture and encourage others to learn about different cultures as well.â€

One of her favorite parts of the festival, she said, was seeing families gathered together in the audience. For her, that sense of togetherness reflects an important aspect of Latino culture itself, where family remains at the center of community life.

That same spirit of community was on display Sunday morning when Julieta Gesualdo-Gallup took the stage to lead a high-energy Zumba session.

Gesualdo-Gallup is a compliance inspector with Park City's Building Department and volunteer member of the festival's advisory committee, so she joked that the Latino Arts Festival is the only opportunity each year for people to come dance with her.

A former tango dancer in Argentina, she discovered Zumba after moving to the United States and later earned her instructor certification with encouragement from a mentor who joined her on stage during the festival.

“Music and dance unite us,†Gesualdo-Gallup said. “Language doesn't matter. Sometimes when we're struggling, we dance for a while and forget our problems.â€

Music's ability to bring people together was evident when she was on stage, the scene unfolding around her seeming to prove her point. People emerged from every corner of Canyons Village Plaza to join the Zumba session. Children danced beside parents. Festivalgoers invited friends to join in. Even members of the resort's medical staff paused to follow along. Visitors who had simply been passing through stopped and became part of the crowd, too.

In that moment, age, language and background mattered little as strangers moved to the same rhythm.

“When we hear a song, whether you're from Argentina, Colombia or anywhere else, we feel more united, like Latino brothers and sisters,†she said.

Gesualdo-Gallup also spoke about the often unseen contributions Latino community members make throughout Park City. Whether visitors are skiing, dining at local restaurants, staying in hotels or enjoying a vacation in the mountains, she noted that Latino workers help make many of those experiences possible.

The festival, she said, offers an opportunity to recognize those contributions and celebrate the people behind them.

“Being Latino in the United States is remembering where you come from,†she said. “It's your grandparents, your ancestors, the culture, the food, the language.â€

For her that remembrance is important.

“Being Latino means creativity and reinvention,†she said. “It means starting over. It is nostalgia for what was left behind and uncertainty and hope for the path you've chosen. It is resistance. It is learning. It is brotherhood with our fellow Latinos. It is pride.â€

Her reflections ultimately captured the spirit of the festival itself.

“It's a moment to celebrate ourselves because we are part of this culture,†she said. “Some of us may be more visible than others, but we're here. It's a moment to say, ‘Today I celebrate you. I see you. And I thank you.’â€

As the Latino Arts Festival came to a close, it served as both a celebration of culture and a reminder that the stories, traditions and contributions of Latino communities remain an essential part of Park City's identity.

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