Latin Jazz Fest ends with a drumbeat

Latin Jazz Fest ends with a drumbeat

Brownsville residents might be used to the Latin Jazz Fest ending outdoors on Levee Street, with the sun shining down and the music playing loud.

Due to weather concerns, the fest instead ended in the Jacob Brown Auditorium at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College on Sunday, but if fans were disappointed, they didn’t show it.

"This is the last day and it always seems like we might not make it," said George Ramirez, the festival’s organizer. "But the volunteers work so hard and the people keep coming. We might have changed our location, but the people still found us."

And they found a whole lot of music.

Ani Tharpe, who formerly hosted the Televisa program Ani Time, performed for her third time during the jazz fest’s history.

Tharpe now teaches music at Egly Elementary, and says the festival is a great way to expose young people to new music.

"To me it’s a big reward to play here and have people be exposed and enriched by our culture," Tharpe said. "I think this is making a big impact on our future generation."

The Austin-based Samba group Academicos da Opera - Austin Samba School was also one of the day’s highlights. The group performs samba with the carnival-style theatrics of Brazil. Giant puppets danced around the samba performers, as a full ensemble of drummers beat out the music in the background. By the end of the group’s performance the audience was on its feet, following a conga line around the theater.

As the festival finished up on Sunday, Ramirez said he was looking forward to the end.

"I love organizing these events, but my favorite part is when it’s over," he said. "You’re so glad you survived and it came out beautifully."