Raíces & Rhythms: Latin America in Australia

La Fiesta Unplugged

An evening of music, memory, and conversation.

Raices & Rhythms: Latin America in Australia invites audiences into an intimate world where music meets storytelling. Across the night, celebrated Latin American musicians now living in Australia take to the stage in stripped-back acoustic sets — pairing original songs with favourite covers — before sitting down with MC Frank Madrid, Canberra’s best-known Latin cultural personality, for candid conversations about their inspirations, journeys, and lives as artists in Australia.

This special pre-concert to La Fiesta (Canberra’s major Latin American festival held the next day, Sat 25 Oct at Latin American Plaza) offers a rare chance to encounter the music of Latin America in close-up, away from the big stages and festival crowds. Here, audiences discover the stories behind the music: personal histories, artistic roots, and the ways culture is carried across oceans and made anew in Canberra and beyond.

Artists

Oscar Jimenez – Colombian artist based in Melbourne, known for his work with ARIA-nominated groups and for blending Colombian roots with urban Australian soundscapes.

Humberto Porto – Brazilian musician and percussionist, celebrated for his work in samba and Afro-Brazilian traditions, now making waves in Melbourne’s Latin music scene.

Rodolfo Caivano - Argentine Bandoneon player born in Mendoza, trained in Buenos Aires, now based in Canberra and Artistic Director of the Canberra Tango Quintet.

Eduardo Ruiz – Peruvian classical guitarist whose repertoire spans intricate traditional forms and contemporary expression.

Fabricio Tocco – Argentine/Brazilian musician and ANU academic, whose research and practice bridge culture and scholarship.

Nadia Camara Cardozo – Argentine singer-songwriter rooted in Latin pop, blending her Misiones borderland roots with passion, emotion, and sensitivity.

Juan Garces – Colombian percussionist rooted in Afro-Colombian traditions, now based in Canberra. He has trained with master drummers in Colombia and performs with local groups in Sydney and in Canberra.

The night will be bookended by two special percussion performances - opening with a pre-show outdoor performance by Raio De Sol (Canberra’s community samba band) and closing with a special collective moment: Colombian percussion roots with Cumbia Rueda lead by Juan Garces, drawing musicians and audience into one final shared rhythm. 

Read more: Street Talk with Rafael Florez

Street One | Reserved | Duration 150 Minutes including interval
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