Come hungry, leave filled with culture and community at Festival Colombiano
For Eduardo Bravo, the quickest way to introduce people to Colombian culture isn’t through words. It’s through the crunch of crispy pork skin stuffed with succulent pieces of pork belly, rice and peas, all of which was slow roasted for 12 hours.
It’s through the squeal of an accordion, the rattle of a guacharaca and the tapping of drums that cause hips to sway while belting out passionate pleas for a lost love to return.
There’s no need to wait in a long TSA line to experience any of this. All the food and music Bravo would showcase to people interested in Colombia will be in Charlotte’s First Ward Park on Saturday, July 19.
Festival Colombiano Multicultural is back for its third year, celebrating Colombia’s Independence Day, Latinos and all cultures starting at 12 p.m.
Bravo, who owns Brasas Arepas & Grill on Old Pineville Road near the Woodlawn Station, along with two other restaurants, will be a vendor at the festival. And he’ll be serving up Colombian classics such as empanadas, arepas, lechona (that crispy pork dish) and carne en vara al barril, which literally translates to “meat on a stick in a barrel.”
“Many people want to know about Colombian culture because they like the food, the music. They want to know how Colombia looks,” Bravo said. “The festival will be a little Colombia.”
From Colombia to multicultural
Charlotte has celebrated Colombian culture really for the past 18 years, festival president Natalia Silva said. The festival used to be held at Symphony Park.
Silva and her partner, Karol Cortes, took over the event three years ago, moving it to Concord as the crowd grew too large for the SouthPark park.
The growing crowd makes sense as the Colombian and Hispanic population overall continues to increase in the Charlotte region.
More than 50,000 Colombians reside in North and South Carolina, according to American Community Survey data from 2021, the most recent numbers. It’s a 70% increase in the last decade.
In a recent count, almost 205,000 Hispanic people reside in Mecklenburg County alone, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in June.
“Charlotte is a welcoming city,” said Milagros Ugueto de Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of La Casa de la Cultura, a nonprofit that’s helping with the festival activities. “People are open to learn, to give, to interact, to support.”
That willingness to embrace other cultures is why events such as Festival Colombiano exist and continue to thrive.
It’s an educational bridge, Ugueto de Sanchez said, through food, music and art. And Silva agrees.
“Eating food together, hearing the music, seeing the dances, everybody can get together and learn about people from other countries,” Silva said. “It’s a way to embrace community.”
That embrace is also why the festival is including more international communities in its agenda, Silva said.
La Casa de la Cultura, which Silva also co-founded, will be hosting an artisan market featuring local artists from Vietnam, Palestine, India, Venezuela, El Salvador and Germany.
“I’m excited to see all the communities together,” Silva said. “That way we can show the community, look, we are here. Doesn’t matter the color, the country, whatever you believe. We are here together.”
Vallenato, lulado y empanadas
While education is definitely key for the festival, having fun and bringing joy to all Charlotteans is really the goal.
Tickets are on sale for $23.57, which includes fees and taxes. And since it’s a family event, Silva said, kids under 13 years old are free.
The food lineup is all Colombian and Latino-based, with vendors including Brasas, Dulce Tradicion, Los Paisas, Mr. Pollo Gourmet Chicken and Manolo’s Bakery. They’ll be bringing traditional favorites such as buñuelos, or fried dough with cheese, and bandeja paisa, a heaping dish of rice, beans, maduros (sweet plantain), chicharrón (crispy pork skin), chorizo and either steak or chicken.
Expect natural juices such as guanabana, soursop juice and lulado, made from the lulo fruit native to Colombia and tastes like a mix of tropical explosion of pineapple and lime.
Silva said there will be ample varieties of empanadas and arepas. Colombian empanadas are usually made with a cornmeal shell, giving a crunchy exterior, while the inside is a juicy stew of various meats and potatoes.
The musical lineup is diverse with salsa from Sonora Carousels, bachata from Gersy Nicolas, and a mix of salsa, funk and reggae from Ultima Nota.
The real stars will be the vallenato artists. Vallenato is a vibrant sound born in Colombia with accordions, scrapers and drums underneath lyrics that usually tell the story of love or love lost.
Vallenato legend Jean Carlos Centeno and Ronal Urbina will be performing for their first time in Charlotte.
Silva said prepare for satiated stomachs and bring dancing shoes. But, most importantly, be open to enjoying community.
“All the communities together are the most important thing right now,” Silva said. “It doesn’t matter where you belong. We are all human beings … and we’re here, getting better every year.”
