What's on in Canberra: La Fiesta Latin American festival lights up Civic

La Fiesta in Canberra's Latin American Plaza hosted an array of performances, mouth-watering food trucks, and family friendly activities to compliment a sunny afternoon in the city.

The City Renewal Authority hosted the vibrant festival, along with the local Latin American community.

Ngunnawal elder Warren Daly warmly welcomed visitors to the event. Several senior diplomats from various Latin American countries also attended to support the event.

Embassy organisers set up an open-air art gallery with contemporary artwork from places including Chile, Mexico, Venezuela and Paraguay.

Priyanka Gupta and Eric Lai heard about the event on social media and decided to come along to practice their dance moves.

The two were interested in Latin America and were glad they could learn about multiple cultures.

"I love being out in community and learning about Latin culture because I learn a bit of Latin dancing," Ms Gupta said.

"I didn't even know what Latin America consisted of, so the gallery is very cool and insightful."

Attendees were also spotted enjoyed cold beers and siestas in comfortable seating set up at the plaza.

Owner of the Brazbecue food truck Lelio Reiner was impressed with the turnout at the all-ages event.

He was delighted to see people lining up to buy some of his traditional Brazilian charcoal barbecue with different types of meat.

"This cut is Picanha," he said holding up a row of aromatic skewered beef.

"It's very authentic. It has a layer of fat, it's the layer that brings the flavour to the lips."

Food at the event was largely organised by the Australian National University's Latin American Students Association.

President of the association Marcos Penteado said although Latin Americans had been living in Australia for a long time, there was not a lot of "synergy" across the country regarding community.

He said La Fiesta was a chance to make the Latin American community visible in the nation's capital.

"Most of the people performing on stage are Canberrans but a lot of people I've met, Latinos [including] myself, when they were growing up, they didn't know many other Latin Americans at all," Mr Penteado said.

"This is an opportunity to present ourselves on the big stage and interact with the wider community."

Chief executive of the City Renewal Authority Malcolm Snow the event was a "feast for the senses" and wanted to promote a stronger connection with locals and foreign cultures.

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"Gatherings like this are so important in bringing us closer," Mr Snow said.

"We're delighted to host this event in this public space in the heart of our city center and see it infused with the sounds and flavors of so many countries."

The La Fiesta emcee said Canberra was a "symbolic" place to bring the Latina community together because it was also home to representatives from every Latin American country.

He applauded the organisers' and artists' efforts in putting together a "true representation" of what modern Latin American cultures look liked, for everyone to experience.

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