Calle Ocho Festival

The Calle Ocho Music Festival is a vibrant, one-day event that concludes Carnaval Miami. Held every March in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, it spans from SW 8th Street to 27th Avenue and extends to 9th Avenue. This lively celebration of Pan-American culture draws over a million visitors, earning a reputation as one of the world’s largest street festivals. Unfortunately, the 2020 festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival originated in 1978, initiated by Cuban immigrants who sought to celebrate and share their culture with the South Florida community. Over the years, it has expanded to include participants from various Latin American countries. However, in 1996, the festival was canceled after a tragic incident in which four Cuban exile aviators were shot down by Cuban warplanes.

The festival is a sprawling event that closes 28 blocks of SW 8th Street for dancing, delicious food, drinks, and live entertainment on 30 stages. These stages, scattered throughout Little Havana, feature a wide range of Latin music genres from different regions, including the Caribbean. Carnaval Miami is organized and supported by the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana.

Calle Ocho has achieved several notable milestones over the years. In 1988, it set a Guinness World Record for the longest conga line with nearly 120,000 participants. Other impressive feats include a 10,000-pound piñata in 1990, the world’s longest cigar in 2000, and the largest flag image ever created in 2012. The Florida legislature even designated it as the official state festival in 2010.

Despite setbacks like the 1996 cancellation and the recent health concerns in 2020, the Calle Ocho Music Festival continues to be an iconic celebration of Latin American culture and heritage. It attracts a diverse crowd and provides a fantastic platform for artistic expression and community engagement.