Celebrate Latin American Heritage Month Around Vancouver

October is Latin American Heritage Month in Canada, and around Vancouver, the celebration is stretching well beyond a single month – or a single neighbourhood.

 

From Oct. 14 to Nov. 2, Latincouver’s annual Latin American Heritage Month Festival will bring music, food, literature, art and cultural traditions to locations across Vancouver and Burnaby. Granville Island becomes one of the festival’s main gathering places, while events also pop up in Gastown, Burnaby and elsewhere around the Lower Mainland.

 

It’s a chance to listen, taste, dance, make something with your hands and perhaps learn something unexpected along the way.

 

And that last part matters. Canada has officially recognized October as Latin American Heritage Month since 2018, honouring the contributions Latin American communities have made to the country’s social, economic, political and cultural life. Today, more than half a million people of Latin American origin live in Canada, with roots spanning 22 countries and languages that include Spanish, Portuguese and numerous Indigenous languages.

In Vancouver, the celebrations begin with a party.

 

Start With Rhythm On Granville Island

The festival opens Oct. 14 with Raíces & Ritmos – From Our Roots to Vancouver at Performance Works on Granville Island.

 

Brazilian-born, BC-based musician Celso Machado headlines the evening, bringing a mix of guitar, percussion, voice and Brazilian musical traditions to the stage. Machado has spent more than four decades performing and composing, earning multiple Juno Award nominations along the way.

 

The opening gala also includes an all-vinyl set from DJ and visual artist Mr. Pablo, dance by Roots Peruvian, Latin-inspired canapés, visual projections and, appropriately, a dance floor.

 

There’s a community connection behind the celebration, too: proceeds from the evening will support Latino Seniors of BC programming.

 

When: Oct. 14, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Performance Works, Granville Island

 

Browse Books & Hear The Language Come Alive

A few days later, Granville Island trades the dance floor for the written word.

 

The Feria del Libro en Español, or Spanish Book Fair, takes over Ocean Art Works on Oct. 18. The free event brings Spanish-language authors, readers, storytellers and musicians together for a full day devoted to literature and language.

 

Readings take place throughout the day, along with storytelling for both adults and children and musical performances. Even visitors who aren’t fluent in Spanish can appreciate the fair as a window into the many stories, voices and experiences that make up Latin American culture in BC.

 

When: Oct. 18, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Ocean Art Works, Granville Island
Admission: Free

See Tradition As Something Living

Latin American heritage isn’t presented here simply as something belonging to the past.

 

On Oct. 22, Indigenous Traditions in Action: Sharing and Preserving Knowledge brings Canadian and Latin American Indigenous perspectives together for a conversation about ancestral teachings, storytelling, ceremony, land-based practices, cultural identity and community well-being.

 

The discussion explores connections across the Americas, including relationships with land, respect for elders, collective care and the passing of knowledge between generations.

 

It’s one of the festival’s quieter events, perhaps, but potentially one of its most thought-provoking.

 

Día De Los Muertos Comes To Burnaby

As October heads toward Halloween, the festival turns its attention to a celebration that is sometimes misunderstood outside the cultures where it originated.

 

Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – is about remembrance, family, life and the enduring connections between generations, rather than fright.

 

On Oct. 24 and 25, those traditions will fill the plaza at The Amazing Brentwood in Burnaby with live music, folkloric dance, food, an artisan marketplace and hands-on cultural activities.

 

Visitors can try workshops ranging from papel picado, the intricate cut-paper decorations seen at celebrations throughout Mexico, to sugar skull decorating, Catrina lantern making, floral arrangements and creating an ofrenda – an altar built to remember and honour someone who has died.

 

There are even storytelling sessions devoted to sharing memories of loved ones.

 

When: Oct. 24–25, noon to 7 p.m.
Where: The Amazing Brentwood, Burnaby

Spend Día De Los Muertos Weekend On Granville Island

Then comes one of the festival’s biggest weekends.

 

On Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the Day of the Dead Market brings Día de los Muertos traditions back to Granville Island with food, artisans, live music, storytelling and cultural workshops. Visitors can decorate sugar skulls, make papel picado and Catrina lanterns, learn about the ancestral significance of corn or build an ofrenda of their own.

 

The market offers an especially good opportunity for families to go beyond the imagery of painted skulls and flowers and learn what the traditions actually represent.

 

That distinction is important.

 

Día de los Muertos may coincide with Halloween festivities in BC, but its purpose is quite different: it is rooted in remembrance – keeping stories alive, honouring people who have died and maintaining connections between generations.

 

Latincouver carries that message into its closing Catrinas Procession, asking participants to approach the tradition respectfully. Catrina and Catrín dress and face paint are welcome, but the organization specifically asks people to avoid gore, zombie makeup and costumes that mock Latin American or Indigenous cultures. Everyone, regardless of background, is invited to participate.

Look A Little Closer At This Year’s Artwork

Even the festival poster has a story to tell.

 

Latincouver says its 2026 artwork draws on an Andean vision of an interconnected universe, linking nature, community, ancestors, memory and future generations.

 

At its centre is a butterfly representing transformation and renewal. Other symbols refer to the three interconnected worlds of Andean cosmology – Hanan Pacha, Kay Pacha and Uku Pacha – along with the Amaru, a sacred serpent associated with movement, regeneration and transformation.

 

It’s a fitting image for a festival built around the idea that heritage doesn’t simply sit behind glass. It moves. It changes. It travels with people. And it is kept alive whenever stories are told, recipes are shared, music is played or one generation teaches something to the next.

 

For British Columbians, Latin American Heritage Month offers plenty of reasons to join in – whether that means dancing to Brazilian music, discovering a Spanish-language author, learning the meaning behind an ofrenda or simply wandering through a market on a fall afternoon.

 

Come curious. You may leave knowing Vancouver a little better, too.

 

Plan your visit: Latin American Heritage Month runs Oct. 14 to Nov. 2, 2026. Events take place at Granville Island, Burnaby and other locations around Metro Vancouver. Some are free, while others require tickets or advance registration. See Latin American Heritage Month 2026 schedule for more details.