Chicago Latino Dance Festival: Sept. 23rd @ Old Town School

Iré Elese Abure is a performance ensemble steeped in the dance, song, and drumming traditions of Afro-Cuban folklore. The name, Iré Elese Abure, comes from the Yoruba culture that took root throughout the Americas, meaning “goodness from the hands of our brothers and sisters.”

Comunidad Kichwa Runa is a group of Indigenous Kichwa people from Ecuador, living in Chicago. They share stories about their heritage through music and art. They make use of traditional instruments such as the zampoña, quena, charango, and rondador to rescue traditional melodies from the province of Imbabura such as "San Juanito."

The Midwest's largest and most inclusive ballet folklórico organization, their goal is to provide affordable cultural and artistic programming for the community and to preserve traditions for future generations and improve the community’s involvement in the arts. The Ballet cultivates and invests in future generations and helps students achieve higher education goals by awarding college scholarships and maximizing leadership opportunities.

Raised in Rio de Janeiro, Dill Costa is a performer who represents authentic Carnaval music. Dance Performer and Brazilian Dance Instructor at Old Town School Of Folk Music since 2004, she has been part of the team of instructors at the International Samba Congress since 2017. In 2018, she presented the first Brazilian musical created in Chicago, The Heartbeat of Brasil, in partnership with the Choreographer Fabio Barros and Capoeira Master Marisa Cordeiro. From this show came the desire to gather a group of dancers and Capoeiristas under one roof.

Founded in 1992 by Guilibardo Gil Criollo, Martha Jiménez and Gabriel Rodríguez and under the artistic direction of Edgar Serna, the Tierra Colombian Dance Ensemble celebrates Colombia’s diverse cultures through traditional dances, music and cultural events.

Founded in 2000 by Julieta Bolívar, Corazón Boliviano’s mission is to preserve and promote Bolivian culture in Chicago through classes and performances. In 2010, Bolívar spearheaded a global Caporal (a traditional dance from the region of the Yungas in Bolivia, a borderland between the semi-tropical and highland regions, which honors Afro-Bolivian identity and culture) dance featuring groups, families and anyone who wanted to join in the dance for one day.

Since 2004, Casa de la Cultura Guatemalteca has promoted the culture, dances and traditions of Guatemala in Chicago through their participation in such events as the Thanksgiving Day Parade in downtown Chicago.

Tuwamari was founded in 2005 with the goal of sharing the roots of quichua culture through music and traditional dance. Under the direction and expertise of Miriam Fernandez, an alum of Ecuador’s Dance Institute from Ecuador, Tuwamari takes pride in its group as a worthy ambassador of the culture and folklore of the people of Ecuador.