Festival Cervantino, Latin America's biggest cultural event, returns with new energy

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/29/ [login to see] /cervantino-festival-latin-america
On a recent Saturday night at the Teatro Juarez in Guanajuato, Portuguese singer Carminho is performing her second Fado called O Começo (The Beginning). She's accompanied by a quartet of bass, electric and acoustic guitars and the emblematic instrument of fado, the 12-steel string Portuguese guitar. Fado songs are deeply melancholic, the lyrics are filled with 'saudade,' a feeling of nostalgia and longing.

It's Carminho's first time performing at the Cervantino International Festival and the audience is mesmerized. Backstage, after the show, she says the streets of Guanajuato have a lot of energy, like an erupting volcano. "And when I came to the stage, I received the same intensity from the audience. It was great, great, unforgettable!" she says.

This year is special. After a virtual edition in 2020, and a hybrid version last year - the festival is back in person and celebrating 50 years. "It's a festival where people can come to enjoy theater, dance, music, films, literature, gastronomy, street theater, circus, and so on," says festival director Mariana Aymerich. "They can come with the whole family, to enjoy 19 days to feel, to dance, and to reflect with all the artists that are here with us."