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Latin American Heritage Month in Vancouver

October 2, 2023

Latin American Heritage Month features a series of events celebrating Latin music, food, art and culture. In Vancouver it takes place mostly in October.

The series of events runs from mid-October until November 2nd.

See the latincouver.ca website to learn more about the organization behind the busy month and the events offered at this festival.

In this article you’ll find the following information about the following places:

Brazilian Performance at Performance Works — An Evening Show on Granville Island

Vancouver Events During Latin American Heritage Month

Presented by Latincouver, Latin American Heritage Month is an annual series of events in the City of Vancouver. The festival celebrates Latin culture with various events at different locations in October, plus a couple of days in November.

2025 marks the festival’s seventh anniversary with activities running from mid-October to early November. The series of events features traditional ceremonies, interactive workshops, exhibitions and plenty others or all to enjoy.

Latincouver is a non-profit organization that works to unite Latinos and people who appreciate the culture. This is the same organization behind Vancouver’s Carnaval del Sol which is the largest Latin festival in the Pacific Northwest.

See the Latincouver website for full details about Latin American Heritage Month events in the Lower Mainland.

When and Where?

In 2025 the Latin American Heritage Month series of events runs from October 14th to November 2nd.

Activities take place in few locations. Some of them happen on Granville Island which is one of Vancouver’s most famous and interesting places to visit. Located on the southern edge of False Creek, the neighbourhood is a trendy tourist destination. It features restaurants, unique stores and a large Public Market. Some of the events also take place at Latincouver’s Latin Plaza in Gastown, which is also a famous neighbourhood with shops and restaurants.

One of the main venues for Latin American Heritage Month is the Ocean Art Works Pavilion on Granville Island. It’s a covered outdoor space a few blocks away at 1531 Johnston Street (just west of the Public Market and under the bridge). Most of the workshops and exhibitions take place here, as do the opening and closing ceremonies. The Day of the Dead Market also takes place on Granville Island, but a block or so from Ocean Art Works.

Some of the parties during Latin American Heritage Month happen in the Latin Plaza at Latincouver. The venue’s address is #301-68 Water Street in Gastown.

See further below for last year’s schedule of events, or visit the Latincouver website for full details.

Admission Rates

There are both free and ticketed events that take place during the festival. Most of the events at Ocean Art Works Pavilion on Granville Island take place outdoors and are free to attend. Other events cost as little as $15.

Schedule of Events

Some of the events that happened during the 2024 Latin American Heritage Month (LAHM) are listed below. These events will be similar in 2025, though exact details are to be confirmed.

Ongoing Exhibitions

Traditional Altar Installation “Dia de los Muertos” – at the Ocean Art Works Pavilion at Granville Island from October 15th to November 3rd.
Art Exhibition “Color Calavera” – at the Ocean Art Works Pavilion at Granville Island from October 15th to November 3rd.
Live Commemorative Mural “Harmony” from El Salvador – at the Day of the Dead Market on Granville Island on November 2nd and 3rd.

See the Latincouver website for full details about Latin American Heritage Month events in the Lower Mainland.

Tuesday, October 15th, 2024

LAHM Opening Ceremony – the festival kicked off with music and dance performances at 5:00 pm at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.

Thursday, October 17th, 2024

Seniors Day – honouring elders and the roots of the community at the Latin Hub at Latincouver in Gastown.

Saturday, October 19th, 2024

Salsa Class – learn the Cuban style of the dance at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.

See the Latincouver website for full details about Latin American Heritage Month events in the Lower Mainland.

Day of the Dead Latin Market Entertainment Stage — Axe Capoeira Workshop at the Latin Market

Sunday, October 20th, 2024

Tembleques Workshop – creating the traditional head pieces at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.
Barriletes Workshop – creating handmade kites at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.

Monday, October 21st, 2024

Across the Americas (Colombia) – a celebration of all things Colombian at University Canada West on Granville Street.

Saturday, October 26th, 2024

Abuelita’s Remedy Kit – learn about traditional natural remedies for various ailments at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.
Literatura Indigena Latinoamericana – a free workshop with Silvana Goldemberg on Granville Island.
Fonda Chilena – a party featuring Chilean music, drinks and food at the Latin Plaza at Latincouver at #301-68 Water Street in Gastown.

Thursday, October 31st, 2024 (i.e., Halloween Night)

Latin Costume Party – a party with DJs Teedj & Cristian Del Campo at the Latin Plaza at Latincouver at #301-68 Water Street in Gastown.

See the Latincouver website for full details about Latin American Heritage Month events in the Lower Mainland.

Saturday, November 2nd, 2024

Kids Workshops – a series of workshops and fun activities geared for children at Ocean Art Works.
Latin Market Featuring the Day of the Dead – a Latin market full of food, music and costumes at 1500 Bridge Street on Granville Island. It ran from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm. Admission was free.

Sunday, November 3rd, 2024

Kids Workshops – a series of workshops and fun activities geared for the young ones at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.
Latin Market Featuring the Day of the Dead – a Latin market full of food, music and costumes on Granville Island. It ran from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm. Admission was free.
Closing Ceremony at the Day of the Dead Market – the festival wrapped up with a big closing ceremony at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island.

Dia de Muertos Latin Market Video

The video below shows what the Dia de Muertos Latin Market looked like when it took place at the Ocean Art Works Pavilion in 2021. It was even bigger in 2022 at Bridge Street. The photo above shows what that venue looked like a couple of years ago.

See the Latincouver website for full details about Latin American Heritage Month events in the Lower Mainland.

About Latin American History Month

Latin American Heritage Month (LAHM) has been celebrated by Latincouver with events in Vancouver since 2019. In the United States, it has been a recognized occasion since 1988. Before that, from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, it was recognized in the USA as Hispanic Heritage Week (so for a much shorter period of time and not a full month). In both cases, the recognition was established as an act of federal law.

The Parliament of Canada declared October as Latin American Heritage Month. Our government did that in 2018. In Canada’s case it’s for the full month of October. In the United States it’s from September 15th until October 15th. Why? September 15th was chosen as it’s the anniversary of when a number of Latin American colonies first gained their independence from Spain in the 1820s.

In both Canada and the United States, Latin American Heritage Month is celebrated in recognition of the contributions of Latin American immigrants to the culture, history and multicultural fabric of the two respective countries.

Canada celebrates other cultural groups too. Black History Month, for example, happens in February, and Asian Heritage Month happens in May. June, meanwhile, has been declared both National Indigenous History Month and Filipino Heritage Month. In Vancouver, June is also recognized as Italian Heritage Month. See our article about Multicultural Heritage Months in Vancouver to learn more about other similar periods of cultural celebrations.

Latin American History Month Video

The following video shows scenes at the opening ceremonies of Latin American Heritage Month at Granville Island in 2021. The event took place in the Ocean Art Works Pavilion.

You’ll see a pair of Mexican Nahualli Folklore dancers. There is also a group of Aztec dancers and a person in a Catrina skeleton-like costume.

Latincouver and LAHM

In 2024 Latincouver’s series of Latin American Heritage Month events ran from October 15th to November 3rd. Its dates for 2025 will be about the same.

Why does Latincouver offer Latin American Heritage Month events up until the first few days of November? Because the Day of the Dead is an important day in Latin American culture, most notably in Mexico. It takes place the day after Halloween and is often celebrated over the course of a couple of days (so the first one or two days of November).