Ritmo Latino Festival: This Weekend in Cary

Cary, NC — Cary’s Ritmo Latino festival is this Saturday, May 30, 2015 in Downtown Cary. We talked to David Flores of Diamante, the group that organizes the event, to find out more.

Why Ritmo Latino?

The Ritmo Latino festival has always been in Cary. The event originally took place in Bond Park but was moved to Downtown Cary four years ago. This Saturday will mark its 11th year.

David Flores is the President of Diamante Inc., a Cary-based cultural group whose mission is to “preserve, develop and promote the cultural expressions of the Latino community in North Carolina” and to “accelerate the integration of the Latino community with all the communities in the state.” In 2011, there were 828,000 Hispanics in North Carolina (or 9% of the population).

For these reasons, Diamante promotes cultural awareness and hosts fun events for our community each year, including Ritmo Latino, Three Kings Day, Star of Hope and the Diamante awards, which reward scholarships to students, among other events.

Art, Music, Dancing & Food

The event, co-sponsored by Town of Cary, will feature a music stage with six bands from different countries, a dance stage with 12 folkloric dance groups (including one Indian group), food from five countries, a kids’ zone with many activities, a soccer clinic, 100 booths vendors and information, a display of Latino art from six artists and more.

The festival is a family-oriented event and is free to all visitors. Flores told me that he expects approximately 7,000 visitors throughout the day.

You can find a complete schedule for the festival, and more information, online.