OTP’s Guide to Latin American Music Festivals
Photo By: Aunty Meredith
For their muddy fields, massive crowds, and many stages, mega-events like Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury get most of the cred in the festival circuit. But if you blow by Austin City Limits and keep heading south, you’ll reach the motherland for music lovers. Latin America’s funky fests are actually about the music; tripping balls and painting your body are second to the stages. Check out OTP’s list of the best Latin American festivals and infect your hips with a bit of ritmo.
Photo by: CrkDown
Everyone knows Colombia is the Mick Jagger of countries when it comes to sex and drugs—turns out it does rock and roll too. Every July, nearly half a million people flock to Bogata’s Plaza de Bolivar for Rock al Parque. This three-day, open-air event is the largest free music festival in Latin America. Back in the day this shit was pure rock—but now it’s cut with reggae, ska, blues and punk. Unfortunately, you can’t buy booze at this event, so you’d better fill that hip flask with aguardiente if you want to rage to the likes of Aterciopelados, Manu Chao, Bloc Party and Kinky. We heard Manu Chao insists you’re at least tipsy.
Photo by: imagenesdominicanas
The Dominican Republic might be famous for its booming sex tourism scene and cheesy all-inclusive resorts, but nothing reps the DR like an ice-cold Presidente. This homegrown pilsner is as Dominican as A-Rod. Unlike baseball’s infamous asshole, the Presidente brewery gives back to its fans with a kickass music festival. Every other October, 200,000 Dominicans hit up Santo Domingo for three days of the hottest Latin artists on the scene. They’re so hot, in fact, that the Presidente Festival now attracts non-Latino artists such as T-Pain and 50 Cent as well. The next festival is in 2012, so you have some time to brush up on your Latin music and Spanish pick-up skills.
Photo by: fotopedia.com
Fuck Bravo’s Platinum Hit—if you’re trying to see serious songwriters in action, the International Song Festival of Viña del Mar, a.k.a. El Festival de Viña, is where it’s at. This annual songwriting showdown features top pop and folk acts from around the world. They’re judged by a jury of bigwig composers such as George Martin and Maurice Jarre, but also by you, the audience. Simon Cowell has nada on the Viña audience, vicious enough to be nicknamed El Monstruo, or “The Monster.” Rock legends such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Nelly Furtado, and Journey break the tension with intermediary performances. Nothing lightens the mood better than “Don’t Stop Believing.”
Photo By: Qoyllur
Prepare to rock out on a glacier. The Peruvian Festival of the Snow Star, a.k.a. Festival of Qollyur Rit’i rolls around each May, on the full moon before Corpus Christi, when 30,000-something Peruvians trek 15,000 feet up Ausangate Mountain. At the summit, normally inhabited only by alpacas, you’ll find an icy, three-day fiesta in honor of Andean mountain spirits (not the drinking kind) and Jesus’ surprise mountaintop appearance in the 1700s. There’s nonstop live Andean music and dancing to defrost your balls, not to mention all-you-can-eat fried cuy to warm up your gut.
Photo By: Federico Fioressi
Buenos Aires Tango Festival; Buenos Aires, Argentina
Argentina’s biggest cultural export—even bigger than Malbec wines and Maradona soccer jerseys—is the dance floor foreplay known as tango. Buenos Aires hosts an annual super-festival for international tango-lovers to whip each other around—a two and a half week event that features free music and dance all over the city. And the foreplay aspect isn’t just for natives; if your ears have been seduced by the sexy tunes, grab an Argentine hottie and shove your legs into their nether-regions to the beat.
Photo by: imecas02
The granddaddy of rock en Español festivals, Festival Vive Latino keeps it real. Almost anyone who performs here has some connection to either Latin America or Spain, from Los Fabulosos Cadillacs to Devendra Banhart. While the festival always has a solid lineup of Latin-blooded artists, don’t expect much reggaeton. Since the crowd nearly started a riot in 2007 when Calle 13 performed, the festival has stuck to rock, ska and reggae. Don’t worry if you’re a fan—there’s plenty of reggaeton on every radio station in every Latin country to compensate (or you can just hit a stick to a trashcan, in the same rhythm pattern, repeatedly, to create an entire regeaton album on your own).
Photo by: JBL / Harman
Brazilian ass is hot, but not as hot as tickets to this festival— where 600,000 sold in four days. With a 2011 lineup featuring Metallica, Coldplay, and Katy Perry, this festival isn’t necessarily Latin-centric but it’s one of the largest in the world. The first Rock in Rio was held in 1985, when rock gods Queen, AC/DC, and James Taylor played to 1.4 million people. Nicknamed the City of Rock, this marathon of concerts plays out in a whopping 2.7 million square feet of land. Yes, the tickets are gone for 2011, unless you want to hook up an online scalper with $560 US. Just be on your game when tickets go on sale for the Rock in Rios to be held in both Madrid and Lisbon next year.
Photo by: maveric2003
While some festivals are into wallet-raping and big name acts, Quito Fest doesn’t give a damn about profit. In 2003, a team of independent musicians and artists decided putting a price tag on music was shitty, and plenty of performers and audience members agreed. This free, two-day indie music festival is held every September in Itchimbia Park and has grown into a massive nonprofit music and art fest. If you’re a peace-hater, forget it; rumor has it that both the Ecuadorian and international artists subliminally preach anti-violence messages onstage.
Latin music gets around, just ask Shakira‘s honest hips. But if your only exposure is J. Lo singing about getting wasted in Ibiza, you need to hop on a plane stat. The flight might be a bit pricier than going to California or Chicago, but you’ll make up for it in the price of food and booze.
A sassy, spunky, and spontaneous globetrottress taking the world, one passport stamp at a time.
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Yes a brilliant article I am pleased to found it..
Woah that really is sassy and spunky. I have just been around Asia and Asian music festivals http://www.travelwireasia.com/743/6-of-the-best-asian-music-festivals/ Would love to be in Latin America though…