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Kensington-Cedar Cottage: Outdoor Latin fiesta heats up Kensington-Cedar Cottage

It's a typical mid-week night at El Sol de Acapulco Caf é , a Mexican-Salvadorean restaurant tucked into a strip mall near the corner of Nanaimo and Kingsway.

It's a typical mid-week night at El Sol de Acapulco Café, a Mexican-Salvadorean restaurant tucked into a strip mall near the corner of Nanaimo and Kingsway. The place is packed with people chatting over their tacos, tortas, sopas and pupusas in a mix of Spanish, English and even Cantonese as traditional folk music plays softly in the background. El Sol, which opened five months ago and is run by Salvadorean immigrant Don Miguel Linares and his Mexican wife Erika, is just one of several Latin-flavoured eateries to pop up in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood in recent years such as El Carocal on Victoria and the always-busy vegetarian Bandidas Taqueria on Commercial Drive.

Ana David, the organizer of the annual Latin Summer Fest, the city's longest-running celebration of Hispanic culture, would like to see even more, not to mention hearing more Latin music on local airwaves.

"I think as far as radio is concerned we need a lot more 24/7 reggae and ethnic music because it is really tough for us to be labeled 'alternative' when we've been here for so many years," says David, a native of the Dominican Republic who has lived in Canada for 30 years. "Just because we speak Spanish is the only excuse we are not on the radio."

Now in its 13th year, Latin Summer Fest will once again kick up its heels this Sunday with a daylong, family-friendly fiesta (meaning a special kids' activity area and no tequila or frosty cervezas for sale) at John Hendry Park beside Trout Lake. David adds that it's important the event remains free to the public because street carnivals are an integral part of most Latin American societies.

"In Latin culture, when you are talking festival and carnival time, it's in the street and there is no charge," she tells the Courier. "People ask 'Why do you have to dance in the park in public or in the street?' but it's just part of the culture."

"It's not that we are trying to offend anybody but this is what we love to do and you are very welcome to join us and we will teach you how to dance." She points out that Hispanic culture is far from monolithic and includes a mix of music styles from its many different countries, something she tries to reflect into the lineup. For example, this year's event features an eclectic lineup that includes bossa nova (Edie da Pone, Nova Sol), reggae (Leon Nayen, Pendomoja) and hip hop (Ansuay) as well as traditional styles, not to mention Peruvian and Mexican dancers and even a capoeira demonstration by Ache Brasil.

Fabiana Katz, an Argentinian-born alto soprano who has lived in Vancouver for the past 17 years, says a love of music and dance is one of the main things that brings the varied Latin American cultures together.

"There is a lot of music in our homes and in the community and everybody grows up singing and playing an instrument of some sort, usually a guitar or in Central American countries or the Caribbean ones, something called a cuatros that is like a ukulele," says Katz, who will be performing solo on Sunday afternoon. "We all play and sing and I grew up singing folk music. Everybody sings and dances and people get together at homes all the time just to sing."
The Kerrisdale resident added that she is looking forward to getting in touch with her roots again this weekend.

"I don't get an opportunity to sing 'my' music, Argentinian music, as much as I'd like to," says Katz. "I'm a classically trained singer, so I do a lot of baroque music and sing professionally with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and I love doing it but I miss doing my own folk music. It's a lot of fun and it can be a really euphoric experience to do this kind of music; it's very rhythmic and visceral so I'm looking forward to just singing."

The event's headliner, Adonis Puentes, echoes the same sentiment about the emphasis on music in Latin culture. "Being a musician where I come from, in Cuba, is a very important thing," says Puentes, who now calls Victoria, B.C. home. "Your kids turning into musicians is the equivalent of turning into doctors or engineers and all that. There is that respect for music."

For more information on this year's festival, visit latinsummerfest.com.

afleming@vancouver.com
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