LATIN AMERICA COMES ALIVE IN THE 39TH ANNUAL CARNAVAL SAN FRANCISCO
Part 1 of 2: Carnaval San Francisco Parade 2017 by CBS SF Bay Area
BY ARCHANA SINGH Photography: Adrian Sky (www.adriansky.com)
California’s largest annual Multi-Cultural Celebration to take place Memorial Day Weekend, May 27 & 28, in San Francisco’s Mission District
Love makes you do lot of cute things like giving a nickname to something you love. And San Francisco is a city that has many nicknames – The City, City By the Bay, San Fran, The Golden City, San Fran and Frisco among many others. When the Spanish-speaking locals talk about their beloved city they don’t call it “Frisco” but Pancho, which is a common nickname for Francisco in Latin America, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard the 2017 theme is “El Corazon de San Pancho — The Heart of San Francisco.”
"San Franciscans built a city that values belonging, diversity, community-building, and multicultural arts,"
said Roberto Hernandez, Carnaval San Francisco’s artistic director.
"The ‘heart’ of this city is the value we place on culture, community and empathy toward one another."
The name San Pancho stands for San Francisco’s sense of unity, inclusion and multicultural pride. This year’s theme, “El Corazon de San Pancho — The Heart of San Francisco,” was chosen to pay homage to San Francisco’s enduring legacy as a place that has always embraced people from around the world with open arms. Whether they were refugees or the hippies or the members of the LGBT community. San Francisco always made room for more.
Part 2 of 2: Carnaval San Francisco Parade 2017 by CBS SF Bay Area
California’s largest annual multi-cultural celebration will take place a month before the city celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Summer of Love, and in honor of that milestone Carnaval San Francisco organizers plan to pay tribute to musical icons Carlos Santana and Jerry Garcia, both San Francisco natives synonymous with the 1960s-counterculture movement.
This year’s theme also draws attention to the bond felt by residents, particularly during testing times. “We’re struggling with the city’s rising rents, evictions, displacement and limited access to economic opportunity,” said Hernandez. “An event like Carnaval San Francisco unifies the community and preserves its heart, soul and traditions. We’re recognizing that there’s a common struggle while promoting solidarity, compassion and creativity. We’re acknowledging that culture cures what ails us – ‘la cultura cura.’”
Carnaval San Francisco is organized by just five paid consultants but draws upon more than 500 volunteers passionately dedicated to cultivating and celebrating the Latino and Caribbean roots of the city’s Mission District.
If you are looking for love, this is the place to be. Over the past 39 years, many strangers have met at Carnaval San Francisco, fallen in love, got married and had babies.
2017 CARNAVAL SAN FRANCISCO GRAND PARADE WINNERS
GRAND CHAMPIONS: Fogo Na Roupa Grupo Carnavalesco Cultural
1ST PLACE: Danza Azteca Xipe Totec
2ND PLACE: Sistas-Wit-Style
3RD PLACE: Morenada para el Mundo 100% es Boliviana
BRAZILIAN CATEGORY
1ST PLACE: Grupo Samba Rio and California Brazil Camp
2ND PLACE: Gente Da Cidade
3RD PLACE: Maracatu Pacífico
TRADITIONAL/FOLKLORIC CATEGORY
1ST PLACE: La Cumbiamba Colombiana
2ND PLACE: Kantuta Ballet Folklorico de Bolivia
3RD PLACE: Valverde Dance Theater
CHILDREN/YOUTH CATEGORY
1ST PLACE: Moving Beyond Productions
2ND PLACE: Sherman Elementary School
3RD PLACE: Buena Vista Horace Mann
CARIBBEAN CATEGORY
1ST PLACE: Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
2ND PLACE: Mas Makers Massive
3RD PLACE: Karibbean Vibrationz
CONTEMPORARY/WORLD/FUSION/ORIGINAL CATEGORY
1ST PLACE: SambaFunk! Funkquarians w/ King Theo
2ND PLACE: Loco Bloco
3RD PLACE: Viva La Diva
ONLINE: Watch a replay of the Carnaval San Francisco Grand Parade in its entirety on CBSsF.com
The 39th Annual Carnival San Francisco by Rohit Adukia [Full Video 126 minutes on a Tripod high above VIP stands at 21st & Mission]
38. CultuCuba
39. Karibbean Vibrationz
40. Valverde Dance Theater
41. United Rhythms
42. Telemundo 48 and Xfinity Comcast
43. Danza Azteca Xipe Totec
44. Aquarela Brazilian Dance Ensemble
45. Distrito De La Amistad
46. Comunidad Maya Yucateca del Area de la Bahia
47. Fogo Na Roupa Grupo Carnavalesco Cultural
48. Diaspora Fitness Mas Band
49. Paixão
50. ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco
51. Ginga Brasil
52. La Cumbiamba Colombiana
53. Instituto de Cultura Raíces del Perú
54. SambaFunk! Funkquarians w/ King Theo
55. El Show de Pepe
56. Northern California Zumba Fitness
57. Conjunto Folklórico Panamá América
58. WORKOUTTEMPS division of Dance of the Ancestors, Inc.
59. Rueda Con Ritmo
60. Proyección Folklórica Guatemala Xelaju
61. Zorro & Zorro Jr.
62. Star One w/ Wardell Walters
63. Los Bomberos de San Francisco
64. Flavaz of D' Caribbean
65. Club 26 Mix
66. Batalá San Francisco
67. Sambos Caporales Central Bolivia and Sambos Caporales USA
68. Parceros Salseros
69. Morenada para el Mundo 100% es Boliviana
70. San Francisco Giants
2016 Carnaval San Francisco Parade Clips from youtube
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