CLAS Latin American & Caribbean Festival

40th Annual Latin American & Caribbean Festival

The 40th Latin American & Caribbean Festival has been postponed to October 8, 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions at the University of Pittsburgh.
See below for updated information.

A Little Bit of History...

In the year 1979, one afternoon on an average work day at CLAS, Carmelo Mesa-Lago (Director), June Belkin (Assistant to the Director), and Shirley Kregar (Assistant Director) were discussing the forthcoming year's activities. They wondered, "What can we do to promote cultural awareness of Latin American cultures in Pittsburgh, involving the Latin American groups living in Pittsburgh and in neighboring areas?" Shirley said, "Let's have a Latin American Festival!" At that time, no one could foresee that the Festival would grow to its actual size and that ten years later it would be considered not only of the most important cultural events at the University level, but more importantly, city-wide! Shirley suggested the idea, but Alan Adelman was the one who organized and implemented the set up for the first festival; a lot of his original ideas are still in use today.

The Latin American and Caribbean Festival has had many years of success and every year it seems to improve in the number and quality of groups that participate and the scope of media coverage. This brings us the 40th edition of the festival, and as the Latino and Hispanic population in Pittsburgh continues to grow, it makes the Festival one of the largest gatherings of Latinos in Western Pennsylvania.

The Mission of the festival is to showcase the cultures of Latin America in Pittsburgh and to inform the students and the general public of the resources that can be found in Pittsburgh

Plan Your Visit

Everything you need to know about transportation, parking, accessibility, and more!

An update on this year's Festival

Dear Festival Community,

We hope that this message finds you well as we head into the Fall. At this point, you may be wondering why we are updating you about the Latin American and Caribbean Festival at Pitt yet again. Our yearly feature community event has been part of the fabric of our community for many decades. It is a significant local gathering and an opportunity to celebrate the heritage and culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing together thousands of participants. At the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) we are fond of the Festival well beyond our personal duties.

The University of Pittsburgh is similarly concerned for its communities' best interest and well-being. Oakland campus posture for the foreseeable future restricts access to buildings and facilities to those who are not Pitt students, Faculty, and/or Staff. As there is no certainty that this will change in the next two months, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 40th Latin American & Caribbean Festival until October 8, 2022.

In order to abide by Pitt guidelines and good practice, we will hold a discrete celebration open only to students, faculty, and staff. However, we are hopeful that by Fall 2022 we can return to the wide-open community celebration we have grown accustomed to. Thank you once again for your support and patience as we sort through the challenges this pandemic imposes upon all of us.

Please reach out to Luz Amanda at lavst12@pitt.edu, if you should have any other questions or concerns. We really look forward to seeing you for the Festival next year—mark your calendars: Saturday, October 8, 2022.