BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT is hard to find one word to describe the Latin Fiesta that went down yesterday (Oct. 21) at Carambola Beach Club. Words such as amazing, fantastic and superb will do the event an injustice, as this year’s event was nothing short of electrifying.
It was pure excitement and energy as a mixture of Latinos and nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis partied to Meringue, Salsa and other types of Latin music.
The atmosphere and ambience at Carambola were breathtaking and the venue accommodated well to the large turnout.
This year’s event was held under the theme ‘Brazilian Carnival’ and featured Ritmo Brazil of Brazil and Batukealo of Puerto Rico.
Just before the main attractions were showcased, the festive air was filled with pulsating rhythms and Salsa music, as a Salsa Competition was one of the feature items of the event’s programme of activities.
The Salsa Competition was judged in two rounds; the first of which participants had to dance the Salsa and in the second round they had to dance the Meringue.
At first, just a handful of couples had originally signed up for the competition, but once the music got going onlookers started swaying and suddenly they were on the dance floor showing off their moves.
After the end of round one more persons had signed up for the competition.
In the end, first place went to Caroline Joseph and her dance partner Eddie Santory, while second place went to Guzman Rodriguez and Alice Plichta.
Following the Salsa Competition, the venue began to heat up with the announcement that Carnival Troupe Fusion Fantasy was launching their 2012-2013 troupe designs.
Fusion Fantasy presented ‘Kittitian Roots’.
The event also featured a taste of Brazil with Ritmo Brazil and featured three ladies in carnival costumes one would only see in that South American country.
The women certainly had the audience’s attention as they danced and vigorously shook their bodies seductively.
Batukealo gave an amazing performance which had the audience moving from the beginning of their set until the end.
The group was founded in 2003 by Puerto Rican trombonist Aníbal de Gracia who, along with seven talented and versatile artists, created a fusion of musical genres such as the Puerto Rican Plena, the Brazilian Batucada, the tasty Cuban Troupe and modern Reggaeton.
Some of the music played by Batukealo included Salsa, Meringue, Plena, Bachata, Spanish Rock, Americana and Reggaeton.
They band even performed some past hits by American artistes, including the Village People’s ‘YMCA’.
The event was explosive and what better way to commemorate the third annual event than with fireworks.
Minister of Tourism Ricky Skerrit said this year’s event was amazing. He said he especially loved the mixed of people as he saw persons of all backgrounds, including Latinos, visitors and locals.
“Carambola also did a fantastic job preparing the setting. The setting could easily hold another 500 people quite easily and it is such a large and comfortable setting. Everyone seemed so relax,” he said.
Skerritt said apart from the group arriving on the day of the event instead of the previous day, he had not seen any other setback and noted that the event is something the government would continue to support.
