NEW YORK, NY – July 14, 2021 – (LATINX NEWSWIRE) – Organizers of the 116th Street Virtual Festival announced today that AARP New York has joined as the presenting sponsor of the iconic event that will take place on Saturday, July 17th, on multiple national and local broadcasts TV, live stream, and OTT platforms. As part of its sponsorship of the 36th annual festival, which this year due to COVID will once again be purely virtual, AARP New York is presenting a special 10-part “History of Salsa” Series that will debut on the broadcast/live stream.
The History of Salsa segments will be a centerpiece of the virtual festival that is owned by the Hispanic Marketing and Advertising Group and the Abrazo Fraternal del Barrio Foundation.
“AARP is proud to sponsor this festival that for so long has itself nurtured the Latino community’s culture, passions, and rhythms, and it’s a special honor to also help make this incredible Salsa history series come to life,” stated Maggie Castro, Associate State Director Outreach Engagement, AARP New York.
The Salsa series features Historical Salsa Influencers from the 1940s until today, such as Machito to Marc Anthony.
The festival will broadcast and live stream from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. E.T. on multiple national and local TV channels as well as live stream media platforms, including the festival’s website, https://116thstfestival.com, and its Facebook fan page.
A Tremendous Talent Line-Up
Co-hosted by Danny Trejo, Victor Cruz, and Agatha, the two-hour, bilingual festival features 20 Latinx music stars, celebrity co-hosts, a fashion show, Latino culinary recipes, and other creative surprises. This year’s festival will help raise awareness for the major COVID-19 Vaccination initiative, “De Ti Depende,” that was created by The Ad Council.
Music Roster, Fashion, and Fun
Among the talent performing in the virtual festival are Richy Ray, Agatha, Angie Rose, Magdeline Benitez, Beat Boi, CHRISSY-I-EECE, Fundador, among others. The virtual festival’s talent roster represents a cross-section of music genres and nationalities. To view the latest festival roster, visit the festival website.
Celebrating 36 Years
Throughout its more than 36 year history, the 116th Street Festival has evolved to become a major national event that represents New York’s diverse Latino communities, cultures, passions, and rhythms.
While we miss being with our fans on the streets of New York, it’s still too early in the city’s post-COVID recovery to execute an in-person festival so this year we’re once again putting our full force and creativity behind a major virtual experience for 2021 that will be on local and national broadcast TV, on live stream platforms, and on OTT.
We know you’ll enjoy this special edition of the festival as we hope and pray that in 2022 we can once again see you back on the streets of the 116th Street Festival.
Even though this year’s festival is purely on broadcast TV and live stream due to COVID, the event is laying the groundwork for what organizers hope can be a return to the in-person and live stream spectacle in 2022 on the streets of New York City.
Sponsors and Production Partners
In addition to AARP New York, sponsors include Cerveza Presidente, Ponce Bank, Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” and The Ad Council’s “De Ti Depende” Campaign.
Viewing / Distribution
The 116th Street Virtual Festival will enjoy major national and regional media, digital and OTT views thanks to distribution partnerships with VME TV Network, VivaLive TV, Tarima TV Network, Spectrum Noticias 1 Channel 95, Bronx Net, MegaTVO Orlando, Mega TV Puerto Rico, and Spanish Broadcasting System Interactive. Other live stream platforms include the Facebook fan pages of SBS’ Mega 97.9 (NYC), 97.9 La Raza (Los Angeles), El Zol 106.7 (Miami), Mega 96.3 (Los Angeles), 93.1 Amor (NYC), Zeta 92 (Miami), Ritmo 95.7 (Miami), Maria Marin Live, and Cinco de Mayo L.A., among others.
Production Partners
Brilla Media and Atlantino have produced several of the pandemic’s most prominent virtual festivals, including the recent Cinco de Mayo LA Virtual Festival (see the 1-min. recap video here) and Altísimo Live, which was a PRWeek 2021 finalist for the Best Multicultural Marketing Campaign of the Year.
Additional media and production partners of the 116th Street Virtual Festival include Jerry Vargas and Kalvin Stevens; Futura Enterprises; Nick Lugo and Peter Spinella of HMAG; Latin Heat Media; Latinx Newswire; Dustelli Music; Eddie Lopez; Heather Lopez and Rachel Matos
Award-winning broadcaster and producers Richy Miranda-Cortese, Ralph Paniagua, and Manny Ruiz will direct the broadcast with Efrain Gonzalez as the Master Editor.
About Hispanic Marketing and Advertising, Inc.
The 116th Street Festival has become a major part of East Harlem’s cultural experience thanks in part to Abrazo Fraternal del Barrio Fdn President David Acosta and V.P. Bob Acosta. They created the event and produced it along with Nick Lugo, President and Executive VP Peter Spinella from Hispanic Marketing and Advertising Group. Both companies are based out of East Harlem for over 35 years and an important part of the community.
About Atlantino LLC
Over the past 35 years, Ralph and Joseph Paniagua have built Atlantino into a powerhouse sponsorship and activations platform for Latino sports, entertainment, experiential, and digital. Through Atlantino and the company’s Latino Baseball and Latino Boxing media properties, Ralph has spearheaded Fortune 100 brand activations with more than 18 Major League Baseball teams, the Roberto Clemente Foundation, and more recently Golden Boy.
In 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic canceling many major Latino events, Ralph pivoted to co-produce the 116 Street Festival and Calle Ocho Festival and the Dominican Days at the Ballpark at 18 MLB stadiums and RSNs as major virtual events reaching millions of viewers.
About Brilla Media
Latinx-owned and operated, Brilla Media provides brand marketers with premium Latinx branded entertainment, media, and experiential storytelling. Created by Manny and Angela Ruiz, the innovative entertainment company features five service pillars: Brilla Media (distribution), Brilla Live (festivals and livestreams), Brilla Creative (original storytelling), Brilla Social (influencer marketing with social media amplification), and Brilla Purpose (social good).
