Samba dancers. | Photos courtesy of Latincouver

On July 5–6, come to downtown Vancouver for a two-day Latin American party at Carnaval del Sol. Experience Latino culture with music, food and more.

Paola Murillo is the director of the non-profit organization Latincouver, which has organized the Carnaval for the last six years.

“We have many projects throughout the year,” says Murillo, “but this is our biggest one. The mission is to bring Latinos together and promote the Latino culture to everyone. Last year 100,000 people came, we are hoping for more.”

There are many things to do at the Carnaval. There will be a Latin America “plaza” with local and national Latin musicians, folk dance troupes and much more.

“We have over 400 artists, we will have painters and artists in the street,” says Murillo. “We have kids’ activities, family activities, we will have people teaching Salsa dancing, we will have people teaching Zumba dancing.”

The ongoing World Cup adds another element to the celebration. At the Latin America House, located at Edgewater Casino, you can watch the World Cup games on a super-sized screen.

If you would rather play soccer, there is that too.

“Every year we have football [soccer],” says Murillo. “We have people playing in the street and we encourage people to form their own teams and to represent their countries. This is not a Latino only carnaval, we encourage everyone to come.”

There is food to be had as well, with over a dozen different vendors selling food from Cuba, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia and elsewhere.

Building up to this event, on July 2 there will be the third annual Inspirational Latin Awards, which are awards given to members of the Latin American community for their contributions in helping improve B.C.’s cultural and business development.

The different awards are for Business Entrepreneur, Art Culture and Sustainability, Achievement for Non-Latinos, Sports, Company Sustainable Practices in Latin America and the Waldo Briño Award. Mamadou Gangué, founding publisher of The Source/La Source will be among the judges.

Join in the Carnaval del Sol’s festivities for food, football and fun!

For more information visit carnavaldelsol.com