PREVIEW: Shake your marimbas at Edmonton’s Second Annual Latin Fest
So you’re Fringed out — or even, perish the thought, think live theatre is like watching paint dry. Or darn it, you just need a change of pace for a few hours.
You have a few choices: self-flagellation with the limb of an Olive Branch to celebrate the birthday of The Blessed St. John of Alvernia; one-legged leapfrog at the 189th Avenue headquarters of the Canadian Association for the Athletically Delayed; the hotdog fights at Laurier Park.
But no. None of these satisfies the urge….the urge to SALSA!
Ohhhh yeah, baby, I know you’re playing that salsa in your head right now, that heavy Tito Puente merengue shit, the real deal that gets your hips moving or, if you’re a guy, makes you stop and watch the womens shaking their hips…..before breaking in with a chest Shake ala Jim Carrey in The Mask, or, if you dig genius Canadian physical comedians, Winston Spear. (Note Nifty Practice Tracks at the end of this article.)
Well, are you ever in luck: this weekend also marks the second annual Edmonton Latin Festvial, blowing the door off Sir Winston Churchill Square, albeit only metaphorically, as the square has no doors, beginning at noon daily.
There’ll be dance lessons, music, food vendors, cultural displays and as much fun generally as you can have in Latin America without swallowing a clear liquor of vile cacti extract in some form or another.(And if that’s required, we’re sure the Sherlock Holmes on Rice Howard Way probably has some wretched Tequila concoction they’ll serve you.)
They’re kicking the whole thing off at noon with a big Pinata, although if you get their closer to one, we suspect you won’t have missed it, given there are two politicians coming as well, and they’ll probably want to dance, so be prepared to resist clawing your eyes out. At that point, maybe head over to Sherlock’s for that shot of tequila.
Salud!
