Pitt's Center for Latin American Studies Presents 29th Annual Latin American and Caribbean Festival Sept. 27

PITTSBURGH-The Center for Latin American Studies is presenting the 29th Annual Latin American and Caribbean Festival from noon to midnight Sept. 27 at the University of Pittsburgh-in conjunction with Pitt's International Week, which runs Sept. 22-28.

The festival will feature special guest Lula das Vassouras, a Brazilian carnival mask artist since the 1960s. He will display his masks and demonstrate how he creates them. Masks will be available for sale to the public. (Location to be announced at the festival.)

Exhibitions in the ballroom of the William Pitt Union (WPU), 3959 Fifth Ave., will include arts and crafts from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Cuisine and desserts from several Latin American and Caribbean countries will be served in WPU's Kurtzman Room.

Beginning at 1 p.m., participants can enjoy the rhythms of Pitt's own Brazil Nuts and other local performers and ensembles, such as Lily Abreu, Salsa Ritmo, Besame, Humitas, and Machete, in WPU's Assembly Room. Other performances will include the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira with Negro Gato and Grupo Axé Capoeira Pittsburgh.

At 10 p.m., salsa dancing with Marlon Silva will begin in the WPU Assembly Room.

The Latin American and Caribbean Festival is sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies, an affiliate of Pitt's University Center for International Studies; the Latin American Cultural Union; and Med Health Services and Pittsburgh Cardiovascular Institute.

For more information, contact Luz Amanda Hank at lavst12@pitt.edu or 412-648-7394.

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