BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (September 13, 2016) -- The seventh edition of the now much acclaimed Latin Festival will be held at the Basseterre’s iconic Port Zante in the period Monday October 17 to Sunday October 23 with a new sponsor on board. The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN) is Latin Festival’s Gold Sponsor.
“Latin Festival LLC is a registered non-profit organisation, we are very thankful and I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Mr Aiduleik Rodriguez, Entertainment Manager Latin Festival LLC. “It is the first time the Bank is coming on board.”
Mr Rodriguez made the remarks on Monday September 12 when he received a gold sponsorship cheque from Ms Vernitha Maynard, Development Bank’s Marketing Officer. Accompanying Mr Rodrigues for the handing over of the sponsorship cheque at the Bank was Ms Geisha Gonzalez, Administration Officer Latin Festival LLC.
“We do not make profit and so without the sponsorship partners that we have, we cannot hold the Latin Festival,” said Mr Rodriguez. “So on behalf of the Latin Festival LLC, we are saying thank you to the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis for the big support that they are giving to us.”
According to Mr Rodriquez, Latin Festival was started in 2010, and Latin Festival LLC was incorporated as a non-profit organisation in 2013. Its president is Mr José Rosa who is also the current President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce St. Kitts and Nevis, and the General Manager of Kajola Kristada Ltd - the main sponsors of Latin Festival.
“The Latin Festival was born because of the needs of the similarities and the links between Latin America countries and this part of the Caribbean that speak English,” commented Mr Rodriguez. “The festival promotes multicultural linkages between St. Kitts and Nevis and the other Latin American countries, and the link in our African roots.”
He noted that every year the festival features and celebrates one Latin American country and those that would have been featured in the past are the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Mexico while this year it will be Cuba’s turn to be featured.
“We have a delegation coming from Cuba,” said Mr Rodriguez. “The Ministry of Culture there has linked with us and they are bringing artistes, movies, music, and dancers. It is totally different you cannot miss this. This year we are going to the next level. We are preparing a week of activities in Port Zante and for the first time we are going to have a Latin Festival Village.
“Cuba is famous right now and we have a lot of linkage already between Cuba and St. Kitts and Nevis as you know we have the (Cuban) doctors in the hospitals and we have a lot of Kittitians studying in Cuba for the last 25-30 years graduating every year. I think it is a good time for us to bring all that as we have residents and students. It is a good time to bring Cuba to the Latin Festival.”
Development Bank’s Marketing Officer, Ms Vernitha Maynard, said that the institution was honoured to have been requested to be a sponsor of the Latin Festival, an event that promotes goodwill among the people of the Caribbean and one that has proven to be a boon to the country’s tourism product.
She observed that Latin Festival’s scope is much wider than an ordinary cultural event, and this was in line with the mandate of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN) to develop the people of the Federation in all aspects of life especially in culture as that is a way of life in the Federation.
“We look at the Latin Festival as a complementary force in our developmental goals for this country,” said Ms Maynard. “We support a number of small to medium businesses in the tourism industry who will stand to gain from the exposure the country is receiving out of the hosting of the Latin Festival.
“Our people will get the opportunity not only to showcase their culture, but also get to learn about the cultures of our Spanish Caribbean brothers and sisters and those in Latin America. Our people should take the opportunity to learn as much as they can especially in the area of cinematography where our Latin American neighbours have an added advantage. This is an area of growth that could offer job opportunities to our youth.”
The festival will culminate with the Latin Fiesta on Sunday October 23. According to Latin Festival LLC’s Entertainment Manager, Mr Aiduleik Rodriguez, Latin Fiesta is a concert that brings together both the international and local musicians and dancers where workshops are also held.
“Same thing we do with the movies,” said Mr Rodriguez. “We always bring a director of a movie, for the last three years we have done that. The person always has a press conference about the movie they bring in and the opportunities that St. Kitts and Nevis as a nation has in the cinematography industry.
“That is something that is really big and we are trying to push and encourage the people to look that way. It is a way of promoting tourism and is also a way to bring more income to the island, not only from the tourism sector but in the cinematography sector which is a very big multi-million industry.”
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