Festival Latino to Return To Downtown's Genoa Park

​Festival Latino—the largest Latin event in Ohio and marking its 28th year in 2025—is a two-day, free, family-friendly event celebrating family and community. Produced by CAPA, Festival Latino 2025 will be held at Genoa Park on Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10, from 11 am to 8 pm daily. Festivalgoers can enjoy an entertainment lineup that includes national headliners and local artists, food, children's activities, art, and dance from the heart of Latin America.

Festival Latino is presented by Honda. Festival Latino also enjoys support from the American Electric Power Foundation, the City of Columbus, Dr. Pepper/Pepsi, Downtown Columbus, Inc, Kemba Financial Credit Union, JP Morgan Chase, and the Robert Weiler Company. Other sponsors of Festival Latino 2025 include Breezeline, Educational Solutions Company, James Immigration Law, Bath & Body Works, Designer Brands/DSW, Huntington National Bank, and The Ohio State University Department of Spanish & Portuguese. Festival Latino also receives support from the Columbus Crew, the Columbus Clippers, COSI, and the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

WHAT'S NEW FOR 2025?

Festival Latino 2025 will feature an all-new, third entertainment and culture area, Plaza Fusión, located at the south end of the festival site near the Rich Street bridge entrance. Programming will include music, new-to-the-festival food and marketplace vendors, a dining area, and cultural activities. Additionally, local artist Juan Daza will coordinate interactive arts activities throughout the festival in this new area.

Also new for 2025 is the Columbus Crew on-site with its interactive street soccer game and appearance during the festival by Crew Cat.

FIESTA STAGE

Saturday, August 9

11 am—Derek Amaya

Derek Amaya, born in Honduras and raised in Queens, has been serving the Latino community in Columbus for over 20 years. He owns The Cave Bar & Lounge, a multicultural hub for music enthusiasts. Known for his empathy and passion for music, Derek was named the first “Padrino” of The Hispanic Heritage Parade 2023 by the city of Columbus.

1:15 pm—Ale Almanza

Ale Almanza is originally from Santa Marta, Colombia and comes from a family of artists, where she was instilled with a love for the sounds of her land since she was a little girl. After living in Mexico she settled in Columbus, where she has become a benchmark of Latin music. Last year she received the Musical Artist of the Year award at the Hispanic Business Awards.

2:45 pm—Chupeta de Ajo, Tributo al Rock en Espanol

Columbus-based Venezuelan singer, songwriter, and musician Víctor Zancudo is a longtime local performer with a variety of bands. His latest, Chupeta de Ajo, is a rock group covering Spanish-language rock songs by bands from Venezuela and beyond.

4:15 pm—Daniela Darcourt

Peru - Salsa

Born in Lima, Peru, Daniela Darcourt is one of the most promising South American artists. With a career that began at age eight as part of various musical projects, the singer has been developing a solo career in salsa since 2018, the year she released her album Esa Soy Yo. The album also featured tracks "Adiós Amor" and "Señor Mentira," which currently has over 53 million views on YouTube. She was also nominated for Breakthrough Artist and Best Southern Artist at the fourth edition of the HTV Heat Awards, in addition to being the number 1 artist on the CHART HOT 100 IN PERU, for two years and four consecutive singles. In November 2021, Darcourt performed two sold-out concerts at the Lima Exhibition Park Amphitheater called "El Reencuentro," an event that resulted in two live albums, El Reencuentro Vol. 1 and El Reencuentro Vol. 2, as well as a prime-time television program open to all of Peru. Darcourt has been a coach on La Voz Perú in all three versions during 2021, where she was the youngest coach in the world of the TV format. 

6:30 pm—Los Rabanes

Panama – Rock

From Chitré, Panama, Los Rabanes is one of the most emblematic fusion rock bands in Latin America. Their musical career has positioned them as a leading avant-garde fusion band in the Latin music industry. They have earned a Latin Grammy Award (2007), toured worldwide, received international acclaim, and recorded with leading producers such as Emilio Estefan and Ruben Blades. Members: Emilio Regueira (guitar and vocals), Christian "Pipón" Torres (bass), Javier Saavedra, and Randy Cuevas (keyboards).

Sunday, August 10

11 am—Derek Amaya

Derek Amaya, born in Honduras and raised in Queens, has been serving the Latino community in Columbus for over 20 years. He owns The Cave Bar & Lounge, a multicultural hub for music enthusiasts. Known for his empathy and passion for music, Derek was named the first “Padrino” of The Hispanic Heritage Parade 2023 by the city of Columbus.

1:15 pm—Golpe de Estado

Golpe de Estado is a young and modern band that excels in the subgenre of "tumbado," a vibrant offshoot of the broad Mexican regional genre. Since their formation, Golpe de Estado has been dedicated to creating music that resonates with audiences, blending traditional regional Mexican sounds with contemporary influences.

2:45 pm—Daymé Arocena

Cuba – Afro-Cuban jazz

Born in Havana in 1992, Arocena grew up immersed in Afro-Cuban folk, but also listening to cassette tapes of Sade Adu, her father's favorite singer. After studying at the prestigious Amadeo Roldán conservatory, she became co-founder and band member of the Cuban-Canadian jazz collective “Maqueque” in 2014. With the collective, she launched several international tours and earned a Grammy nomination. Both her lead performances and complex vocal arrangements display extraordinary technical knowledge. Relying on instinct and intuition is how Arocena has managed her career since she burst on the international scene with Nueva Era, her prodigious debut album, in 2015. Now, she has fully reinvented her sound with Alkemi, a revolutionary and transformative fusion of neo soul singing, Afro-Caribbean beats, and slick new millennium pop.

4:15 pm—Pirulo y La Tribu 

Puerto Rico - Salsa

Pirulo y La Tribu was formed in 2009 by Francisco ‘Pirulo' Rosado Rosario as an integration of classic style and modern times, combining salsa, Latin soul, jazz, hip-hop, urban, Afro-Latin, and world fusion music. Calle Linda was recorded in 2013, its single, "Loco Pero Feliz,” hitting the Billboard Latin Songs charts in 2014 and in 2015 won the SESAC Awards for #1 Tropical Airplay SESAC Latina. Since then, they've released Calle Linda Golden Edition (2015), Calle Linda 2 (2017), Calle Linda 3: El Disco Nuevo (2019), and Calle Linda 4: Salsa y Saoco (2022), each to numerous awards and nominations. Also in 2016, Pirulo y La Tribu became a 2016 Latin American Music Awards winner as New Favorite Tropical Artist and in 2018, again nominated for a Latin Billboard Award as Tropical Artist/Group of the Year.

6:30 pm—Kinito Méndez

Dominican Republic - Merengue

Dominican merengue star Kinito Méndez got involved in popular music at the age of nine while participating in his first band Pequeños del Ritmo. He went on to form a string of successful groups throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, including Cocoband, Rikarena, and Rokabanda. Méndez started his solo career in 1995, recording El Hombre Merengue, selling over 1.5 million copies with his song "Cachamba" topping the Latin charts. His combination of infectious, danceable merengue beats and humorous, witty lyrics made him an instant success. He continued recording for decades, notably paying tribute to his mentor Johnny Ventura with 1998's A Caballo.

DANCE PLAZA

Saturday, August 9

2 pm—Salsa Lessons with Carlos Rubio

Take a salsa dance lesson from “The Salsa King of Ohio.” Carlos Rubio is an instructor at the Salsamante Dance Academy and Ohio's all-time winning-est salsa dancer.

3 pm—Salsamante Dance Academy

Enjoy salsa performances from instructors and students of Columbus' first and only salsa dance studio.

5 pm—El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico

Toledo-based dance company El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico (The Heart of Mexico) will demonstrate the beauty and charm of traditional Mexican dances.

Sunday, August 10

1 pm—El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico

2 pm—Salsa Lessons with Carlos Rubio

3 pm—Salsamante Dance Academy

4 pm—El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY AREAS

• CHILDREN'S AREA, SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER FOUNDATION

Interactive activities including crafts, games, face painting, healthcare consultations, and product sampling will be offered.

• ARTISTS' AND AUTHORS' SHOWCASE, SPONSORED BY JP MORGAN CHASE

Six locally-based Latino artists will display and sell their visual artwork in the Artists' Showcase area as well as local and regional authors who will provide bilingual readings and books for sale. Additional interactive arts activities will be provided in the area near the Rich Street Bridge, directed by local artist Juan Daza.

• COMMUNITY WELLNESS RESOURCES AREA

A variety of local health and social service organizations will offer free health screenings, vital community resources, and bilingual information on their services. Some organizations that will be participating in 2025 include, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Maryhaven, Zora's House, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland, St. Vincent Family Services, the Ohio Department of Neighborhoods, and many more.

• FOOD VENDORS

Festival Latino will offer a wide variety of cuisine from Latin America and beyond.

• MARKETPLACE

The Festival Latino marketplace will include jewelry, arts, crafts, and a variety of other traditional items from Latin America.

• MERCADITO RAICES

Both the Marketplace and festival food vendors will include emerging entrepreneurs that are members of the 2025 class of Mercadito Raices. The program is sponsored by Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) with the Our Lady of Guadalupe Center (OLGC), a program of Catholic Social Services, and CAPA, providing training for new Latino business owners, who then debut at Festival Latino.

• DINING AREA, SPONSORED BY KEMBA FINANCIAL CREDIT UNION

Relax and enjoy your meal at our Dining Area, supported by KEMBA Financial Credit Union.

Please visit FestivalLatino.net for updates on activities and a full list of participating vendors.