Latin America Comes alive during the Carnivals in San Francisco

El Corazon de San Pancho — The Heart of San Francisco

Whenever somebody asks me what is the best time to visit San Francisco, I say any time is a good time. But the best is when the carnivals in San Francisco are held. California’s largest annual Multi-Cultural Celebration takes place annually on every Memorial Day Weekend (last weekend of May) in the city’s Mission District.

Love makes you do a lot of cute things like giving a nickname to something you love. And, San Francisco is a city that has many nicknames – The City, City By the Bay, San Fran, The Golden City, San Fran and Frisco among many others. When the Spanish-speaking locals talk about their beloved city they don’t call it “Frisco” but Pancho, which is a common nickname for Francisco in Latin America, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard the 2017 theme is “El Corazon de San Pancho — The Heart of San Francisco.”

The name San Pancho stands for San Francisco’s sense of unity, inclusion and multicultural pride. This year’s theme, “El Corazon de San Pancho — The Heart of San Francisco,” was chosen to pay homage to San Francisco’s enduring legacy as a place that has always embraced people from around the world with open arms. Whether they were refugees or the hippies or the members of the LGBT community. San Francisco always made room for more.

San Franciscans built a city that values belonging, diversity, community-building, and multicultural arts,

said Roberto Hernandez, Carnaval San Francisco’s artistic director.

The ‘heart’ of this city is the value we place on culture, community and empathy toward one another.

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND 

1. California’s largest annual multi-cultural celebration will take place a month before the city celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Summer of Love, and in honour of that milestone carnivals in San Francisco organizers plan to pay tribute to musical icons Carlos Santana and Jerry Garcia, both San Francisco natives synonymous with the 1960s-counterculture movement.
2. This year’s theme also draws attention to the bond felt by residents, particularly during testing times. “We’re struggling with the city’s rising rents, evictions, displacement and limited access to economic opportunity,” said Hernandez. “An event like carnivals in San Francisco unifies the community and preserves its heart, soul and traditions. We’re recognizing that there’s a common struggle while promoting solidarity, compassion and creativity. We’re acknowledging that culture cures what ails us – ‘la cultura cura.’”
3. Carnivals in San Francisco is organized by just five paid consultants but draws upon more than 500 volunteers passionately dedicated to cultivating and celebrating the Latino and Caribbean roots of the city’s Mission District.
4. If you are looking for love, this is the place to be. Over the past 39 years, many strangers have met at carnivals in San Francisco, fallen in love, got married and had babies.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

On May 27th and 28th, the Mission District will transform into an enormous two-day festival and grand parade throbbing with the red hot energy of the people dancing, drumming, enjoying live music, extravagant costumes and lip-smacking food. Latin American artistry comes alive through traditions from Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Guatemala, Chile, Haiti, and West Africa. It is an event not to be missed at any cost. But make sure you reach well in time as you will be joined by more than 400,000 people who come from different parts of the world.

It is one of the few events where people from diverse backgrounds come together to celebrate life forgetting their age and race. Where else will you see a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter dancing samba together in the parade? And not just that you will also find a Japanese master drummer leading a Samba comparasa.

Isn’t that a great reason to join in?

WHERE TO WATCH?

The 2–day festival will be held May 27th and May 28th on Harrison Street between 16th and 24th Streets from 10 am to 6 pm. The Festival will delight the attendees with a rich assortment of food, music, dance, arts, crafts and other fun activities and entertainment for people of all ages.

The Grand Parade on Sunday, May 28, will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a brilliant procession of contingents, most of which will feature beautifully adorned floats depicting rich multicultural themes and featuring performers who engage and entertain the crowds.

Brazilian-style escola samba schools with up to 300 members dance through the streets in fantastic feathered headdresses or sweeping Bahia skirts, while Caribbean contingents perform the music and dance of the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad.  Other parade groups include Mexican Aztec performers, traditional African drummers, Polynesian dancers, Japanese drummers, giant puppets and folkloric groups representing Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia.  

The Grand Parade will start at the corner of 24th and Bryant streets, proceed west to Mission Street, head north on Mission to 17th Street, turn east on 17th and conclude at South Van Ness. 

Admission to the festival and parade is FREE.  Grandstand seating for the parade, located on Mission Street between 21st and 22nd streets, is available for purchase online at www.carnavalsanfrancisco.org.

The theme for 2019 is La Cultura Cura / Culture Heals that celebrates the spirit of resistance and healing. The Carnaval San Francisco intends to rally behind “La Cultura Cura” as a social and moral statement to counter the polarized political environment in the U.S. today. The 2–day festival will be held from May 25th to May 26th on Harrison Street between 16th and 24th Streets. The 2019 Grand Parade will be held on May 26th at 9:30am. You can experience global cuisine, international music, dance, arts & crafts, and other fun activities and entertainment on every street corner for the entire family to enjoy.

I hope this post can inspire you to check out the celebration of culture and diversity. I would love to know your feedback on the carnivals in San Francisco. Is there any other event like this that you had attended before.

Interested to know more about San Francisco or California, check out these posts:

• Fun things to do in San Francisco
• Why I Left my heart in San Francisco
• 5 Best Northern California Road Trips to bolster your soul
• 5 cool things to do in Palm Springs