Calle Ocho – Miami’s Latin Heritage Celebration
Not only does March in Miami mean Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival, but it also means the Latin celebration called Calle Ocho, indirectly translating to SW 8th Street, which is the main road it’s held on. The event is also commonly referred to as Carnaval. It’s a celebration more specifically aimed at the Cuban influence in Miami and southern Florida, but embraces and honors all Latin heritages that are represented in the ethnic city.
PItbull
Miami native and hip hop icon Pitbull is always likely to give a performance, as well as T-Pain, Flo-Rida, Sean Paul, and more. There’s also plenty of free music by other local talent for all attendees to enjoy and dance to the sounds of Latin culture. In 1988, Calle Ocho made it into the Guinness World Book of Records for the Longest Conga Line, with 119,969 people! That’s a serious conga train!
Conga
This year’s festival expanded it’s range and made other genres of music available for attendees including funk, jazz, rock, and reggae which was performed in a separate area. Just in case the Hispanic sounds became too overwhelming, or maybe for non-Hispanic goers. Either way, the festival is growing every year and wants to attract all residents of South Florida to come and participate.
If you’ve never been exposed to Latin culture, it’s a great way to get everything at once. You can eat the Argentinian dish churrascos, bacalaitos fritos, and tons more ethnic dishes while jamming out in the conga line to some Cuban music, surrounded by people from all over. This past year’s event was held on the 14th of March, so if you’re in town for the big music events, better get on over to Calle Ocho/Carnaval and see what the real Miami is all about. It’s free, and you might just learn a thing or two.
Here is a video of a past performance given by Pitbull at Calle Ocho: