A new three-day Latino community festival, Pueblo Fest, debuts this weekend with several major entertainers. The festival also features an education component with Fresno State social work professor Dr. Iran Barrera and various Bulldogs alumni speaking on Saturday, March 18.
Dubbed the “Latin Coachella,” Pueblo Fest begins today (March 17) and runs through Sunday at the International Agri-Center in Tulare (4500 S. Laspina St.). It will feature more than 20 Latin music artists and a variety of food vendors.
Performing artists include Little Joe y La Familia, Flaco Jimenez, Malo, Los Tigres del Norte, Intocable, Eqequiel Pena, Tierra, Luis Coronel, Alejandra Rojas and Los Lobos.
Arnold Ávalos, president of the board of the Tulare-based Bold Production Inc. that is organizing the event, said Pueblo Fest is the first-ever regional Mexican music festival in the United States with up to 100,000 people expected to attend during the three days of music, food, horse competition, folklórico dancing and more.
Barrera, a professor in Department of Social Work Education at Fresno State who specializes in mental health issues, will be on a panel of motivational speakers at 4:30 p.m. Saturday during the Pueblo Fest Educational Component at the Millennial Stage. He will discuss mental health education as it relates to the Latino community.
“Pueblo Fest is a celebration of our cultura, our comunidad, our musica,” said Barrera, who was recently appointed chair of the Cultural Competence Track for the Council on Social Work Education. “Pueblo Fest is a music festival with social purpose.”
Several other Fresno State alumni also will speak during the education component including “McFarland” movie subjects David Diaz, vice principal of North Kern State Prison, and his brother, Danny Diaz, a McFarland High School counselor; Zoraida Martinez, computer engineer; and Yolanda Valdez, superintendent of Cutler-Orosi School District.
Other speakers include Jose Hernandez, NASA astronaut and entrepreneur; Dr. Joaquin Arambula, California State Assembly; and Oscar Lua, a former NFL player.
The festival features a cultural component made up of more than 100 nonprofit and community organizations.
Other workshops include a two-hour session on bioscience sponsored by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, made up of many Fresno State alumni. Bitwise Industries will present a four-hour workshop on computers and robotics. And Latino technology leaders from Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Salesforce will discuss technology in a series of discussion panels.
Tickets are available at www.pueblofest.com/tickets-2. Prices are $75 for teen general admission passes (ages13-17), $150 for general admission three-day pass, $300 for VIP pass and $600 for ultra-VIP pass. Parking prices range from $20 to $60, and three-day RV camping passes are available for $200.
For more information, visit Pueblofest.com or contact Barrera at irbarrera@csufresno.edu.
