The Calle Ocho Music Festival, long known for celebrating Latin music, is changing its tune.
The annual Miami bash is going country.
That is, the festival is opening its doors to country talent, including David Ray, Amber Leigh and LoCash Cowboys, The Miami Herald reported.
Ross Jiménez, president of the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, said the festival was treading into unchartered waters.
"This is something we've never done,” Jiménez said.
Still, Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, Sylvia Vieta, said the move shouldn't come as a shock.
“Country music is so in nowadays,” she said. “Let’s introduce country music to all the Latinos. The Latinos will be dancing country now."
Two of Miami’s biggest local radio stations, Power96 and Kiss Country, are both sponsoring the event.
“The station has a sizable Latino listener ship so we thought, why not? It makes sense for us and it’s a new area for us, so we’re pretty excited,” said Kiss Country Program Director Ken Boesen, according to The Herald.
In addition to the country acts, the festival announced that the “Kings of Carnaval,” Hansel y Raul, will be performing at this year's event yet again. The Cuban charanga duo has been “together for 33 years” and performed at Calle Ocho each of those years, Jiménez said.
The festival will also be making a move to help with the environment. The streets barred for the festival will be dotted with more than 200 recycling barrels.
You can reach Alexandra Gratereaux at: Alexandra.Gratereaux@foxnewslatino.com
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