The Calle Ocho Music Festival returned to Little Havana after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Kiwanis Club of Little Havana organized the event, now in its 45th year.
The Latin festival features food, music, and dance in a 15-block street party in heart of Miami’s Little Havana.
“Not having it was detrimental to our club,” Alexander Rodriguez of the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana said. “We are a community service organization that tries to provide assistance to underprivileged children and this is one of our biggest fundraisers, so not having it was detrimental.”
The festival spanned Calle Ocho from southwest 12th to 27th Avenue, lined with music, food and entertainment.
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“We’re always fighting for Cuba and for the freedom of Cuba and the fact that we are able to deliver that message here on that stage on this street, Calle Ocho, that every Cuban knows, I have no words for it,” Landy Contreras of the Karibe Kings said.
The Kiwanis Club selected singer Yotuel as the festival’s king this year for his contribution to the song ‘Patria y Vida,” which became a slogan and anthem for widespread protests in Cuba in the summer of 2021.
“This year ‘Patria y Vida’ was such a big, resounding movement that happened for the Cuban community,” Rodriguez said. “And it was our opportunity to shed light on the trouble and struggle the people on the island live through.”
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Other performers included Albita, Osmani Garcia, Oro Solido and more.
NBC 6 and Telemundo 51 are media partners for the event, and Telemundo 51 has a stage located at 24th Avenue.
