latino arts festival 2023
Festival highlights
2023 Latino Arts Festival Partnership Events
Tuesday, June 13 | 7–10:30pm @ City Park
Noches de Verano en el Parque de la Ciudad // Music & Film Night presented in partnership with Mountain Town Music & Sundance Institute.
This event features live music with Eligio Garcia Magic Harp from
7–8:30pm and an outdoor film screening of GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI at 9:15pm. The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition section. Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, June 14 | 7pm @ Jim Santy Auditorium
Free film screening of Pelé: Birth of a Legend presented in partnership with Park City Film in English with Spanish subtitles.
Thursday, June 15 | 5–7pm @ Summit Community Gardens
Cena En El Jardin (Dinner In The Garden) presented in partnership with Summit Community Gardens. Come enjoy a family friendly night in the gardens with fresh food provided by local latino chefs, live Bossa Nova music by Pedrinho Souza, kids craft activities, and craft cocktails provided by Don Julio. Dinner tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for kids.
Saturday, June 17 | 3:30-4:30pm @ Kimball Junction Transit Center
As part of the Art Pianos for All Program, join soprano Jasmine Rodriguez and pianist Nicholas Maughan from Utah Symphony | Utah Opera for a special pop-up performance at the Kimball Junction Transit Center on Saturday afternoon. Stop by for some inspiring music in an unexpected venue, and take public transit to the Festival!
Fun for kids
Head to the kids craft tent
hosted by the Kimball Art Center
for fun hands-on art experiences!
Saturday, June 17 | 11-4 pm: Join art instructors from the Kimball Art Center who will lead kids in making handmade mirrors inspired by Mexican Hojalata Art! Free for all ages.
Sunday, June 18 | 11-4 pm: Join instructors from the Kimball Art Center who will help kids create colorful turtle collages inspired by the beaches of Costa Rica! Free for all ages.
live music &
performance schedule
Friday, June 16 on the Canyons Stage
4–5pm: Los Hermanos de Los Andes from Peru
5:30–6:15pm: Danzas Chile Folklore dance group
7–9pm: Rumba Libre
Saturday, June 17 on the Canyons Stage
10–11:30am: Tom & Jo, live music from Chile
11:45am–12:15pm: Hakan Utah Ecuador folklore dance group
12:25–1pm: Ballet Las Americas en Utah dance group
1:15–2pm: Escencia de Mexico dance group
2:15–4pm: Sambadylove, live music from Brazil
5–6:15pm: Mariachi Zavala, live music from Mexico
7:15–9pm: Brazuca Band from Brazil
Sunday, June 18 on the Canyons Stage
10–11am: Zumba with Julieta Gesualdo from Argentina
11:15am–12:15pm: Oaxaca en Utah dance group
12:20–2pm: Samba Fogo, live music from Brazil
3–5pm: Senxao, a pop-rock band from Latin America
2023 participating artists
Visual artists will be displaying and selling their original artwork and creative goods throughout the 3-day Festival.
Clara amezcua
Clara Amezcua was born in Mexico City. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Business Administration. She moved to Utah 8 years ago and started with the art of piñatas in 2019 with the goal that her children would not lose this beautiful tradition. Now she considers herself an artist and dedicates her time to her craft. She’s given workshops in various schools, museums and cultural events. Her goal is to show the beauty of her culture and its traditions through her piñatas.
stephanie blanco
Stephanie Blanco is a lover of the art of crocheting. She is 28 years old and comes from a beautiful family from Veracruz, Mexico. Her passion was born when she started crocheting things for her babies while pregnant. Now she crochets everything from bags to amigurumi. She is a single mom of two beautiful kids and her art allows her to express her voice and create a good life for her children.
luis calderón
Born in Riobamba, Ecuador in 1960, Luis Calderon learned the art of woodworking as a child since his father was a renowned craftsman. His specialty is miniatures all around and he enjoys making handmade jewelry as well as engraving in tawa nut & metals. He lives in Salt Lake and actively participates in festivals such as Oktoberfest and Living Traditions, Pride fest, etc.
irvin castillo
Irvin Castillo is a local queer POC artist. He connects to his Latin roots through his mother who’s from Michoacan, Mexico. He has always been intrigued by the idea of mixing two polar opposites to create traditional beauty-horror portrait. He specializes with ink, but also utilizes mixed media such as acrylic paint, watercolor and charcoal.
paula christenson
Paula Christenson is an Argentinian-American painter who works between Salt Lake City, Utah and Houston, Texas. She values emotional freedom over intellectualism and realism in her art. Though she started as an elementary school teacher in Argentina, Christenson found her true passion in creating art and pursued formal art education at The Glassell School of Art in Houston. Her competitive and perfectionist nature, combined with her artistic education, led to the development of her own contemporary abstract style.
walter cifuentes
Walter Cifuentes was born in Guatemala although he now lives here in Utah. Despite facing many setbacks in life, he always dreamt of being an artist and making a living from his own ideas and works. He finds that art is carefully meditated, like symphonies and harmonies that do not represent anything in the ordinary sense of the words, nor do they express any ideas, but makes you ponder the words of the music. He hopes that art makes people reflect.
jairo dealba
Born in Madrid, Spain, Dealba lived in the beautiful town of Alcala de Henares, wherein Cervantes famously wrote Don Quijote. He learned to love books as a child and went on to love them even more. Now, he lives in Provo, Utah with his wife & two- year old son. He paints in the style of his native country by applying methods from the Spanish poet Lorca and his Duende talk. He is a firm advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. In his free time he teaches others art and poetry, and builds workshops in order to help others understand that through art there is nothing but happiness and courage.
kerah diez
Kerah Diez makes illustrations of Qechua people in different fairytales and cute animals that can be found in Peru; namely vicuña, alpaca, llama, and Guanaco. She has been making art her whole life, but recently took an interest in learning more about her Peruvian heritage. She thought creating illustrations would be a great way to immerse herself and others in Peruvian culture.
José Antonio platas
José Antonio Platas was for born in Mexico City in1964. He obtained his various Bachelors Degrees from ENPEG, La Esmeralda at the Mexican Institute of Arts (INBA) and a Masters Degree in Visual Arts at the UNAM and a Masters Degree in Applied Museography at the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). His work has been exhibited in 21 solo shows and over 50 collective shows, in Mexico and abroad. He was chosen by the ITI-UNESCO to illustrate the preface for the International Day of Dance 1997. In June 2008, one of José Antonio Platas’ prints was part of the contents in the 2008 Time Capsule that was deposited in the West Tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City.
karen dreyfus
Karen Dreyfus is an artist and illustrator with a background in painting and printmaking. Originally trained in fine art, she received a BFA from the University of Utah. Her work reflects the many art markets. Her work is influenced by her love of nature, architecture and the tropics from her native El Salvador.
maria fajardo
Maria Fajardo is originally from San Jose, California but is a Utah based artist. She is currently studying art in Minnesota and studied in London for the Spring of 2023. From acrylic paintings to custom sneakers, Fajardo uses a diverse range of mediums and styles in her art. This has led her into printmaking, not only because it’s a new medium but it’s also a way to make art more affordable for all. She believes art should be enjoyed by everyone for it’s a universal language that brings us together. In her work, there's a moody, grunge-ish vibe that adds an edge to her work. Her art is heavily influenced by pop culture, Mexican culture, typography, and life.
beatriz killpack
Beatriz Killpack has always loved creating from a very young age. Throughout her life she has been an observer of people and human interaction. She has always been interested in painting faces and the human figure. She finds loveliness in every face regardless of others perceptions of beauty. She likes to work in acrylics, watercolors and mixed media. Her paintings are usually colorful, reflecting her Salvadoran culture; however she also enjoys painting in black and white.
maria elena lowe
Maria Elena Gómez was born in Navil, Chiapas, Mexico. She started learning about the art of weaving when she was 5 years old when her mother taught her how to weave on a backstrap loom. First by teaching her to make little balls of yarn, to measure and embroider, and finally to weave. She went on to become a trilingual nurse (Tzeltal, Tzotzil and Spanish) and worked in this profession for 16 years. Her indigenous traditions, heritage, culture and knowledge have always guided her life. Although life took her away from home at a very young age, almost five decades later, when she put the loom around her waist again, her hands automatically knew what to do. Her desire to focus on textile art as a way to get closer to her roots, and especially her mother, is largely what is at the heart of Textiles Luum.
sara luna
Sara Luna is a fiber artist currently living and creating in Salt Lake City, UT, though she was born in Chile and carries the vibrant culture and traditions of her homeland with her in her work. Her artistic journey began with her pursuit of degrees in visual arts and digital illustration, which laid the foundation for exploration into the world of fiber art.
Through her art, she strives to honor the beauty of traditional Chilean textiles while pushing the boundaries of what is possible in this medium. Her work is a reflection of her passion for portraits, and her dedication to her craft is evident in every piece she creates.
zaida machado
Zaida Machado is a Mexican contemporary artist based in Utah; she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art at Utah Tech University. Machado's interest in art originated during her infancy due to her mother's teachings. Later on, in high school, she had the opportunity to explore and create art next to her mentor and art teacher, Jeff Layne. Since then, she has dedicated her life to painting. Zaida loves to paint figure paintings and portraits. Her goal is to depict how the body reacts, changes, and evokes different emotions in diverse environments.
jazmine martinez
Jazmine Martinez was born in Los Angeles, California although her mother and father come from El Salvador and Mexico respectively. She works with paint and mixed media and dabbles in different areas but mostly creates 2D work. She finds inspiration in nature, spirituality, her cultural background, experiences and the day to day.
She uses cultural imagery in her work that is inspired by her Mesoamerican Heritage. As a Latina woman, she finds it important to use cultural imagery and express her story. She finds her identity begins with her ethnic roots and being a modern woman in America.
vicente juan carlos martinez romo
Vicente J.C Martínez Romo is fine artist and multidisciplinary designer. He was born in beautiful Mexico City. His natural love for drawing and art was noticed from an early age. His interest was cultivated by his older brother during adolescence, which encouraged him to finish his degree in industrial design. For that reason, it is not surprising that some of his pieces are related to interior design, practices that the artist has professionally developed. Another great influence is that of Mexican icon, Ramon Valdiosera Berman creator of the "Mexican pink” with whom he worked for more than ten years in mural painting. Vicente studied a master’s degree in digital creative design, which allowed him to teach at various Universities in Mexico City since 2006. His discipline has allowed him to promote and spread his passion for art and design in new generations.
alejandro mendoza
Alejandro Mendoza was born in the ancient Zapotec weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle, located in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. He learned the generational art of weaving at the age of ten through his father Taurino Mendoza (creator of Taurino Mendoza's loom). As a teenager, his family moved to Orange County, CA. The family business tasked him to travel back and forth from his studio in Orange County to Oaxaca, to create his pieces. As a result, Alejandro gained a wide perspective on his culture and his potential, particularly on the weaving craft, that was when he started to thrive in the excellence of the art of weaving and hand-dying with vegetables dyes. During his first years of college, he also worked and learned alongside his uncle Antonio Mendoza who is a master weaver. Now, Alejandro works in his home studio in Orange County and at the family farm in Oaxaca (about three or four times a year) to dye the wool yarns.
jessica monteiro
Jessica Monteiro is a Brazilian artist born and raised in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. She is a lover of Brazilian music and the beauty of nature especially flowers. She moved to Utah when she was 24, where she discovered a passion for the mountains exploring and getting to know the “rocks”. “I came from a very humid and hot place. Utah is the complete opposite!”. Jessica feels that Latin culture influences her work and is present in her daily life. She works with polymer clay making earrings and other jewelry. She is inspired by the relationship between colors and feelings. She said: “Colors arouse emotions, provoke and calm. It's amazing to talk to people through my earrings. So I can express myself!” Since childhood, Jessica loved big and flashy earrings but changed her style to enter the job market, she opted for more modest earrings in neutral colors. “Today I recognize that colors brighten my day and my life! There's no reason to change it!”
hazel rodriguez copPola
Hazel Rodriguez Coppola is a Guatemalan American ceramic artist and educator living and working in Park City, Utah. As an artist, Hazel's work is a reflection of her innate desire to remember, tell and preserve stories. Primarily working in ceramics since she was 16 years old, she is captivated by the materiality of clay, and the expressive potential of its movements as they relate to visually telling its own story and retaining its own history. Hazel is constantly inspired by the rich traditions, food culture, memories, narrated stories, jokes, and anecdotes from her childhood growing up in an immigrant home. She reflects on her own experiences, as well as the stories of her ancestors to derive her work.
miguel romero
Miguel Romero is from Chihuahua Mexico but has lived in Salt Lake City for almost 20 years. As a child he would watch his grandfather make boots and other interesting things out of leather. It was then that his curiosity for the art of leather started. Although for a long time Romero only made small leather things for family and friends, he never stopped practicing. It wasn't until 2018 when he decided to work with leather more “professionally”, and since then has perfected his technique to provide the best handmade leather products. (Quality over quantity) is his motto and he believes things must be done with love so that they turn out well. When asked about his logo, he explains its' something very Mexican and full of history. It's recognizable and he designed it that way to be able to take Mexico whereever he goes.
luis rosado
In addition to studying a degree in dentistry, Luis Rosado’s inclination for art led him to learn plastic arts in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, where he first approached sculpture and painting. Later, he became an art instructor in institutions in his city of origin. His work has been exhibited in venues and galleries in Mexico, and in universities and museums in the United States. In 2022, he won first place in the international art competition organized by the Mexican consulate in Salt Lake City, Utah where he currently lives and where he’s part of the group of sculptors from the Big Statues studio.
roberto f. salmon salgado
Roberto F. Salmon didn't always know he was going to be an artist. Growing up, he had a hard time finding ways to express himself. He would work with pretty much any media and often found himself drawing on the backs of schoolbooks, desks, and even clothing. He later took formal art classes at The University of Arizona, but professionally he settled on a different path altogether. Meanwhile, he would visit every museum and exhibition he could find, and before long, a side career and a pseudonym were born: Irreverent Artist.
gabriel & veronica sandoval
When Veronica, a business administration major from Chiapas, Mexico, met Gabriel, an oceanography major from Sonora, Mexico, neither imagined her hobby of metal embossing would become their own unique style of repoussé, the European technique of embossing metal sculptures. The two fell in love with—well, with each other, but also with copper and aluminum, whose soft nature allowed them to capture intimate details collectors discover—and rediscover—with each viewing. Currently living and working in Scottsdale and Tucson, Arizona Their work has been exhibited in galleries both locally and internationally for the past 25 years.
Netinho de Carvalho
Netinho de Carvalho was born in Brazil. He started to like art while still in school, specifically drawing, music and metal sculptures. By working with his father in mechanics, he had access to different tools and started working on welding metals. Today he lives in Salt Lake City and continues creating art with metals while working towards his goal of taking his art style to as many people as possible!
Karina Osorio
Nana Puras has been a family business for over 35 years that originated in Peru. Karina Osorio was born in Lima, while her mother is from Arequipa and her grandmother from Cusco, the city of the Incas. Her mother started the business with a small stand in Lima and together with Peruvian artisans they work hand in hand to this day making beautiful alpaca and sheep wool pieces. Today, they wish to expand their culture so that other people can also know and appreciate our handiwork. Likewise, Osorio teaches her daughters to admire and love their origins so that in the future they can continue with the family business.
food vendors
Bien+Estar // Wellness Tent
Head to the Latino Arts Festival Wellness tent hosted by
CONNECT Summit County to relax, unwind, and learn about
the many nonprofit resources available in our community.
Participating organizations
2023 Program Partners
2023 Event Sponsors
Sustaining Program Supporters
thank you
Latino Arts Fest
advisory committee
a huge Thank You to our wonderful LAF advisory committee! this event wouldn’t be possible without your continued support.
Nann Worel, Park City Mayor
Diego Zegarra
Hazell Coppolla
Vanessa Di Palma Wright
Jorge Rodriguez
Hailee Hernandez
Emma Zevallos
Jose Chacon
Miriam Garcia
Maria Isabel Gomez
Yuri Jensen
Fanny Guadalupe
Claudia Boulter
Julieta Gesualdo
Emerson Oliveira
Paola Bello
Agostina Alvarez
Daniel Thurston
Stephanie García
Jessica Loya
Jessica Hinojos
Litzy Flores
Andrea Vazquez
Ana Paula Souza
Parking & transportation
There is FREE event parking throughout the Canyons Village as indicated in the red sections on the map. More information about the Canyons Village venue can be found at CVMA.com.
If you park in the lower "Cabriolet Parking Lot" you can take a FREE Cabriolet chair lift up to the Festival area. This is the most direct way to get to the Festival! If you park in the other parking lots, there are various different access points to the Festival area walking distance from the parking lots.
Take public transit! There is a free bus system that brings you right to the Canyons Village and provides easy access to the Cabriolet free chair lift/Festival Village area. The green "Spire/224 Local" bus line will bring you to the Canyons Village Transit Hub. To view the bus routes, click here.
Traveling for the Festival?
If you’re looking for a place to stay during the festival, consider booking a stay at YOTELPAD!
Located right at the heart of Canyons Village, YOTELPAD offers a convenient location, great amenities, and a beautiful view of Park City. Learn more & book here!