Surrey Latin Festival brings music, art, food, and soccer to Civic Plaza

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Upbeat music and colourful booths set the stage for this year’s Surrey Latin Festival, which took place on July 13 and 14 at the Surrey Civic Plaza. 

Admission was free, and the festival featured a live music stage set up in a corner, allowing attendees to gather for performances. There were numerous food trucks and vendors alongside artisan and clothing stalls spread in interconnected lines throughout the plaza.

“It’s all women who put together the festival … with the mentality of bringing together the Latino culture,” says Paula Zerpa, host and emcee of the Surrey Latin Festival.

The festival has many goals, she says, including understanding each other in a multicultural society because “there is no better way to understand each other than knowledge.”

The theme of this year’s festival was coffee. Zerpa says the theme is not so much to categorize, but to showcase what’s important and has modified their culture through a more educational lens. Last year’s theme was on the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Coffee was brought to South America, but because of the ideal weather conditions, countries like Colombia have become famous for their coffee, says Sandra Ortiz, a representative of the Colombian Canadian Association of BC. 

“People love the aroma, the smell, the fresh [coffee],” she says.

The event featured various live performances. On day one, artists included Sonia Mejia, DJ Nick Guarna, Klave Music School, Chela Tumbao, LFS Dance, Los Grandes, Flor Amargo, and Rumba 7. Day two featured Danza Colombiana, Latin Strings, Mariachi Tabasko, Tamboré Fusion, OWL Dance, Fusion Latino 5, Hora Loca, Songpati Latin Band, Despedida, as well as performances by Klave Music School and a DJ.

Food trucks included Lucha Libre, Smoking Hot Donairs, Kona Ice, and Monster Bagel. There were also various food and beverage vendors including Las Patronas, Taco Land, Union Latino’s Food, Mineiros Brazilian Bistrô, and Rico ‘n Lalo.

Multiple jewellery, accessory, clothing, skin care, and art vendors were also present, selling hats, necklaces, rings, dresses, tops, trinkets, keychains, shea butter, handcrafted dolls, and more.

Many vendors were geared towards kids, including an inflated “Grand Carnival” booth, face painting, Mexican art balloon twisting, and even a Spiderman kids could pose with.

On the second day of the festival, larger crowds gathered around two T.V.s streaming the Copa America 2024 finals, in which Colombia and Argentina played each other. Argentina won the match 1-0.

“[Soccer is] an important thing in our culture,” Zerpa says. “It’s the final so we couldn’t fall short and not have it on.” 

Many attendees could be seen in bright yellow, blue, and red, matching Colombian colours. When a player made a good move, cheers rang out and flags waved.

“We are sharing the warmth of our culture, and opening up our hearts so [attendees] can come and join us,” Zerpa says.

Zerpa says she hopes attendees took away “happiness, a good time, and a different idea of what Latino culture is.”