Festival planners say that they hope to boost the cultural ties between the two regions, as the event matures into a major item on the calendar of activities in St. Kitts.
This desire was shared by Mr. Jose Rosa, General Manager of Kajola Kristada, which is one of the leading forces behind the planned festival.
“The event is going to create an opportunity to have cultural exchanges between Kittitians, Nevisians and people from Latin America”, said the General Manager.
He went on to state that there are many similarities between Puerto Rico and St. Kitts and Nevis and this could be made more evident when one travels to certain parts of the Spanish speaking territory, where large Afro populations are located.
Rosa indicated that the event will feature, some of the finest musicians and performers, mostly from Puerto Rico. These he said include Oscar Vazquez Montes De Oca, Aiduleik Rodriguez, Carlos Martinez, Jimmie Morales, Leni Prieto, William Rosado, Cuto Soto, Eddie Rosa, and others.
“We need to recognize the influence of the Latin American people here in St. Kitts, as matter of fact we have three ambassadors resident here in St. Kitts, representing Brazil Cuba and Venezuela.”
Rosa was supported in his comments by event Director, Michelle Demming who said the expectations for this year’s festival are much higher, and they are hoping to double the amount of persons they had last year.
“The purpose of this Fiesta is to increase the awareness of Latin music, and improve the relationship between Latin speaking countries and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, that they can understand that there are traditions, music heritage and culture that can be shared”, Ms. Demming said.
The event organizers met on Wednesday, 14th September, 2011, with members of the media and sponsors, to update them on the ongoing plans.
The event will be staged at the Spice Mill Restaurant on the Southeast peninsula.