Vibrant Rhythms: Celebrating Latin Fest 2024 in St. Albert

Jorge Vargas, the organizer of St. Albert Latin Fest, is dealing with the best kind of scheduling issue this year.

Over the last few summers, Latin Fest has filled Lions Park with joy, colour, and sound in a day-long, globe-spanning celebration of cultural identity. But in Latin Fest’s third official outing, Vargas has more interested talent than he can find room to include.

“At this point, I have to turn down artists, ‘cause I cannot fit more artists in ten hours,” he says.

The schedule is indeed mighty: the 2024 edition of the free-to-attend, family-friendly festival will see 20 acts from all over Latin cultural diaspora: there’s a Chilean Folkloric dance troupe, Grupo De Danza Folklorico Victor Jara; flamenco from Oscar-José & Judith Garcia; latin jazz from the Rodrigo Sosa Trio; and 17 other acts that offer dance, song, and more, with vendors supporting with food for audiences as well.

“There's no other festival in Edmonton or surrounding area that would have this lineup,” Vargas says.

While the mix of cultures booked is world-ranging, Vargas is also thrilled to highlight local talents like Cristian de la Luna and Alexa Leon.

“Part of our objective is not only to promote Latin culture here in St. Albert, but also to help emerging artists showcase their talents in a very professional setup,” he says.

The festival began after Vargas moved to town. In 2021, he decided to put on a one-off event, the Latin Music Extravaganza: he called in some friends to perform, and used the Lions Park picnic shelter as a stage with his own PA system. He wasn’t expecting a huge turnout, but…

“By act of magic, there were 300 people in front of us, in front of the picnic shelter,” he recalls.

Since then, Vargas has helped form the St Albert Latin Cultural Association. Through the association, he’s turned his one-off event into a yearly festival, in addition to programming other Latin-led events throughout the year.

The festival is volunteer run, and Vargas notes they’re still looking for a few more volunteers to round out the team, but his excitement to share latin culture with St Albert is palpable.

“I'm very proud of not only being Canadian, he says, “but also of bringing culture from other parts of the world to interact with the new society here. That’s a solid objective we have as an association …

“Every year we're learning. It’s been an incredible learning process. We feel really proud of being able to contribute to the community that way.”

Article Written by: Paul Blinov

St. Albert Latin Fest will happen at Lions Park on Saturday, August 17th, from noon to 10pm. More information at  Anyone interested in volunteering can reach the organizers at salcalatino@gmail.com.

More information at stalbertlatinfest.wixsite.com/salca-latin-festival

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