Nearly 100 artists will show their talent in the third edition of the Latin American Art Festival, an annual event that presents outdoor exhibits, painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking as well as folk art, crafts, performance and culinary arts of Latin American countries. The event will be held on April 1 and 2 at Liberty Station Arts District in San Diego.

“There was a need to exhibit art and works of Mexican artists in San Diego,” said festival organizer Aida Valencia to La Prensa San Diego. “With the A Step to the North project, we brought local artists from Baja California to San Diego, and that inspired us to create this festival to bring artists from the rest of Latin America.”

The exhibits started at Casa Valencia gallery, and since three years ago, the exhibitions were expanded to the Liberty Station Arts District in a two-day festival.

“We saw the necessity to promote our cultural roots,” Valencia said. “Now more than ever, the people in San Diego need to know our cultural heritage, our art, and everything that represents our culture in Latin America.”

The artists that participate in the festival are from places like Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Honduras, and more.
“I paint on wood panels to invite the tree, my favorite character, to be part of my works, and to be the base,” said one of the artists participating on this year’s festival, Isabel Cauas, from Santiago, Chile.

The event will also feature the Tijuana Youth Symphony, jazz performances, and other types of music and dance presentations.
“This year’s performances will be very assorted,” Valencia said. “We will have jazz, contemporary dance, Mexican folklore, pantomime, and more.”

One of the new features of this year’s festival is the inclusiveness of the works of poets and writers in San Diego, with the help of local creative nonprofit Writers Ink.

Festival visitors will also be able to enjoy Baja-med food by renowned restaurants like Bracero, Pan Nuestro, and even craft beer from Border X Brewing.

This is a family-friendly event that will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 1-2 at Liberty Station Arts District located on 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16 in San Diego. There is no entrance fee for the event.

The artists and artisans participating in the festival will also engage in workshops with local museums, artists and galleries. The idea of the workshops is to facilitate the communication between local galleries and festival participants.

More information about the festival can be found at www.latinamericanartfestival.com.