Latin Pride Foundation Hosts Successful Festival in Downtown Los Angeles
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The Latin Pride Foundation presented its annual festival on September 4 & 5th in Downtown Los Angeles that was attended by thousands that enjoyed two-days of celebration right in the heart of the City of Angels. Festival organizers were pleased with the great turnout and the performances that were truly crowd pleasers. Two dance tents featured hip-hop and Latin pop music and a fantastic line-up of Latino performing artists captivated the crowds.

Against the backdrop of the high-rise buildings in the central area of Los Angeles, tents housed numerous organizations and businesses participating in the festival. Food vendors, craft sales, HIV organizations and community booths surrounded the perimeter of the festival area. Attendees came from all across Southern California and beyond to celebrate pride and see some of their favorite performers on stage at the festival. The crowd was a well-represented mix of gay, straight, bi, lesbian and transgender persons.

A massive stage, equipped with concert style acoustics and lighting provided the right venue for Axe Bahia, Maria Conchita-Alonso, Yari Moré, Pilar Montenegro, Myriam, Bayu, Skeey, MP-5, Los Bate, Serralde and Julieta Venegas. The festival’s Queen of Festivities was the one and only Yuri and they came from everywhere to see her.

The crowd went wild for Axe Bahia, with their great Brazilian sounds, stage moves, great vocals and fine bodies. Axe Bahia is an energetic group with a big stage presence and it is no wonder why Axe Bahia is currently one of Brazil’s greatest sensations in recent times and the Latin Pride crowd agreed. Julieta Venegas captivated the audience performing her recent award winning solos and festival attendees could not take enough photos of Julieta, one of our newest emerging stars from Mexico. Throughout the concert, the front part of the stage was jam-packed with festival attendees who stayed in place waiting until all performers were through.

The Latin Pride Foundation continues to present a festival to celebrate Latin pride, the core reason for coming together annually. Kicked off in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, festival organizers seek to direct proceeds of the event to HIV/AIDS charities, research and scholarships. A cause certainly worth supporting in light of increasing HIV rates in Los Angeles County and especially among young, gay Latinos.

This year’s festival was sponsored by record label EMI US Latin, Bank of America, Ritmo Latino, KBIG 104, Clear Channel, Univision 34, Divas Magazine, Well’s Fargo, AIDS Healthcare Foundation and many other entities. ADELANTE Magazine was a media sponsor of the event. For more information on the Latin Pride Foundation, please visit their website at www.LatinPride.org.