BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Never mind the humidity: Fabricio Orihuela kept things cool and got the crowd on its feet with favorites by Juanes and Maná on Saturday at SteelStacks.
The Easton-based Latin rocker was part of the entertainment at ¡Sabor! Latin Festival, which celebrates Latin heritage and culture.
- Sabor! Latin Festival celebrated its 13th year at SteelStacks
- Saturday's lineup included Fabricio Orihuela, Kiltro, Little Johnny Rivero and his salsa band and Panchito Bongo y su orquesta
- The free festival featured Latin eats and vendors selling clothing, beauty products and other merchandise
The two-day event took place Friday and Saturday outside the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in South Bethlehem.
Performances in the Saturday night lineup after Orihuela included Kiltro at 6:30 p.m., Little Johnny Rivero and his salsa band at 8 p.m. and Panchito Bongo y su orquesta at 10 p.m.
'Saborsita'
Artist Edith Gutierrez-Hawbaker, owner of the Latinx lifestyle brand Te Lo Juro, designed a Sabor Latin Fest T-shirt for this year's event, now in its 13th year.
It's her second go-around selling her custom-made tees, stickers, coffee mugs, tote bags and other fashionable items that feature slogans such as "Saborsita," "Lehigh Valley Latina," "Proud Latina" and "Vota."
This year, she said, the turnout was good and her sales were up.
"I can tell you from last year to this year I noticed that people are coming from all over. We had customers from New Jersey, Long Island, and right here in the Lehigh Valley," she said. "The festival really does bring a lot of traffic and influx of people into the area. People are excited to hear the music and try the food."
"Last year we saw a wide range of demographics — there [were] 20 year-olds to 75-year-olds dancing until midnight, which I thought was great. It's a mix of people with super positive vibes. This festival brings people of all backgrounds together to celebrate Latin culture and music."
Rum tastings, Latin eats
Some just came for the food.
David Santaner of Whitehall munched on tacos by Holy Infancy Church while trying to dodge the sun.
"I'm meeting up with friends later and when I was driving by I saw the cars and wanted to see what is going on. The food is pretty good," he said.
The Catholic church on East Fourth Street also sold pastelillos, bacalaitos (fried cod fritters) and tostones at the festival.
Additionally, Latin-inspired food was cooked up by Hogar Crea, offering shish kabobs; and Cubano Xpress sold Cubano sandwiches, Cuban nachos, loaded Yucca fries and a Cubano Bowl (rice, beans, plantains and pork, chicken or veggies).
New this year was the Brugal Lounge, a tasting spot that included a variety of four Brugal rums for sampling for the 21-and-over crowd.
The liquor company also set up a domino table for those wanting to play a round or two — a nod to the game that is enthusiastically played in many Caribbean and Latin American countries.
"I noticed that people are coming from all over. We had customers from New Jersey, Long Island, and right here in the Lehigh Valley. The festival really does bring a lot of traffic and influx of people into the area. People are excited to hear the music and try the food."Edith Guiterrez-Hawbaker, owner of Te Lo Juro Collective
Rain or shine
The event kicked off on Friday evening with performances by Lehigh Valley Urban Latin Orquesta, Herencia Jibara and Hector Rosado y su orquesta.
Because of the rain, Friday's concerts were moved inside the ArtsQuest Center.
"We got lucky today. I was hoping it wasn't going to pour," Guitterez-Hawbaker said of Saturday's clear skies.
For info on the event, click here.
