Latino musicians, dancers take to stage

Ethnic music, dance and food will flood Karst Farm Park from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday when it becomes home to Bloomington's second Latino Summer Festival.\nThe festival was born when two women, Tyler Ferguson, recreation programmer of the Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department, and Maria File-Muriel, program assistant of the Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department, put their heads together after meeting while playing soccer.\nFerguson said the county wanted to start a program to reach the community's Latinos. Her contact with File-Muriel gave her the resources to help plan the concerts. As a member of the Latino community, File-Muriel became a liaison between the government and local groups. She had the contacts to bring together various local Latino entertainment groups and create a festival. \n"It (was) our intention for this festival to become an annual event," Ferguson said.\nFerguson said one of the goals of the event is to promote cultural awareness. The festival will serve as an opportunity for residents to learn about the Latino cultures represented in Bloomington.\n"People that live here, that call Monroe County home, will be performing at the festival," File-Muriel said. "That is exciting," \nThe festival provides a venue for local artists to showcase their talents. \n"All of our performers, except the mariachi band, are residents of Bloomington," Ferguson said.\nEarlier this year, Ferguson and File-Muriel held a call-out for local artists to attract performers to the event.\n"The response was great," File-Muriel said. "We have two painters, a jewelry artist and a photographer. We hope to have more artists in the future."\nErnesto Castañeda, a photographer, will be showing his work focusing on daily life in Veracruz, Mexico, at the festival. He held an exhibit this spring at IU's Latino Cultural Center, La Casa.\nLillian Casillas, director of La Casa, described Castañeda's work as highlighting the various aspects of the Veracruz area. She said he uses color and computers to stylize his photos.\nThroughout the festival, local groups will perform music and dance. Ballet Folklorico Internacional will perform traditional dances. There will also be folk music from Guatemala and Mexico and Bossa Nova and Argentine Tango dance lessons.\nOne goal of the festival is to introduce the Latino community to various resources that are available to them in Bloomington. La Casa is among 36 participating local organizations that will have a booth at the Festival. Casillas said the La Casa booth will include information about the services they provide as well as a calendar of upcoming activities. \nCasillas said she enjoyed participating in last year's festival because it provided an opportunity to come together with the community, and share other cultures.\nDue to the great response to the cooking demonstrations last year, this year there will be four rather than just two. The dishes prepared on site will include Mexican tamales, an Uruguayan dessert, Colombian meat fried fritters and Ecuadorian seafood cocktail.\nThe festival also offers activities geared toward children, including a re-created rainforest designed for crawling and exploring.\n-- Contact staff writer Maurina Paradise at paradise@indiana.edu.