Providence is a proudly international city, and PVDFest is a world-class event with performers from six continents uniting in the Creative Capital in the name of art, culture and music. The 2018 edition of the festival features a great range of Latinx entertainment (and a history-making bachata dance). Saturday and Sunday’s programs coincide with the RI Day of Portugal. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister António Costa, and Azorean president Vasco Cordeiro are expected to visit Providence for a historic visit.
Here are just a few cultural highlights of PVDFest:
FRIDAY
Providence hopes to make history as Carlos Gonzales (Mambo Pa Ti) and Martin Rivera-Baldera (Fusion Culture RI and Studio One RI) lead a Guinness World Record attempt (8:00pm) for the “most people dancing a choreographed Bachata.” The current record is 760 dancers, so we’ll need over 380 couples. All ages, abilities and skill levels are invited to join at the Main Stage Powered by Waste Management (40 Snow Street).
La Super Fiesta (5:00pm – 11:00pm) precedes and follows the World Record Attempt on the same stage. The evening-long dance party, presented by GM Communications, will feature reggaeton, salsa, merengue, pop, and Latin Pop by local DJs and performers. Programming draws inspiration from countries such as Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and more.
SATURDAY
LADAMA, performing at 5:30pm at 25 Dorrance Street, is a Pan-American musical hurricane featuring four amazing female folk musicians from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the United States.
Live favorite Troker takes the Main Stage Powered by Waste Management (40 Snow Street) at 6:00pm. A raucous six-piece band from Mexico, Troker features mariachi horns with DJ scratching and funk rhythms and is sure to be a PVDFest highlight.
Latin Grammy winner Buika, “queen of Spanish Flamenco,” rounds out this trio of performances presented by festival Founding Partner FirstWorks with a 9:00pm show on the Main Stage Powered by Waste Management (40 Snow Street).
In addition to Saturday’s FirstWorks headliners, ACT will present Puerto Rican activist and singer/songwriter Taina Asili y Su Banda Rebelde, an Afro-Latin rock-reggae fusion outfit, at 8:00pm on the stage at 25 Dorrance Street.
RI Day of Portugal will present Starlight, a Portuguese band from Canada, who will close out the RI Day of Portugal first night celebration at 10:00pm at the ALEX AND ANI City Center stage located at 2 Kennedy Plaza.
SUNDAY
La Super Feria (12:00pm-5:00pm) at the RI Convention Center combines performance with educational workshops. International actor Julian Gil, local performers Selena Lee, Candela Pura, Robertico y su Alebreke and dancers from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America will take the stage. La Super Feria is presented by GM Communications.
RI Day of Portugal is a two-day celebration happening at ALEX + ANI City Center during PVDFest. This year’s events include a parade that starts at the State House on Sunday (3:00pm), a special Portuguese-themed Waterfire Basin Lighting (8:20pm), and appearances by the President and Prime Minister of Portugal.
Victor Rodrigues, a Portuguese pop artist from Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, will close out the RI Day of Portugal festivities at 9:30pm at the ALEX AND ANI City Center stage located at 2 Kennedy Plaza.