Thousands gather for Latin American flavors, dancing, music during ‘Juan Spring Festival’

Written by Cody Blowers
April 7, 2019

ST. GEORGE — The third annual “Juan Spring Festival,” a celebration showcasing Latin American culture, food, music and dance, was bigger and better than ever this year, event organizers say.

Latin American folk dancers perform before a large crowd during the third annual “Juan Spring Festival” held in the Town Square Park, St. George, Utah, April 6, 2019 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The free event was held Saturday from 5-10 p.m. in Town Square Park in downtown St. George and was attended by members of the public both young and old.

Food trucks lined the festival offering Latin American culinary delights, alongside various other vendors throughout the park. Inflatable bounce houses and other fun activities were also provided for the evening’s younger guests.

“Last year was a big success, and this celebration was even better,” event organizer and on-air radio personality Pedro Magdiel Lopez said, adding that this is the second year the festival has been held in the evening, a variation from the first year when the event was held in the early afternoon.

Lopez, who is commonly known as Pedro Magdiel to his listeners, hosts the morning radio show on Juan 106 FM, a popular Spanish-speaking radio station that has been on the air since 2015, reaching an estimated 25,000 Hispanic households in Southern Utah and Mesquite, Nevada.

Arkangel R-15 performs before a standing-room-only concert during “Juan Spring Festival” held in Town Square Park, St. George, Utah, April 6, 2019 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The evening began with honors to the flag of the United States and the singing of the National Anthem.

St. George Mayor Jon Pike took to the stage to welcome guests on behalf of the city and even learned a few words in Spanish, including “bienvenidos” for “welcome” and “buenos noches” for “good evening.”

Shortly thereafter, Latin American folk dancers took to the stage to entertain the large crowd with several cultural dances indigenous to their ancestral land.

Once the dancers completed their performance, the entertainment was just warming up as musicians took to the stage. The first band, cumbia group Sonora Tropica, was back by popular demand after performing at last year’s festival and treated the crowd to syncretic genres from 6-7:45 p.m.

After a break, the Mexican techno band known as Arkangel R-15 gave a crowd-pleasing performance starting at 8 p.m. and continuing until about 9:45 p.m. shortly before the close of the festival.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cody Blowers was raised in South San Francisco, California. A 2013 graduate of Colorado Technical University, Cody earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in paralegal studies. Through the course of her academic studies she discovered that writing is her true passion, and she is committed to providing credible, integrated news coverage. Cody joined St. George News in 2015, and when she’s not busy chasing the news, she can generally be found chasing her young granddaughter, Kali.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews

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