Festival kicks off with a Latin blast

Brandonites won’t need a passport to experience the traditional cuisine, performances and cultures of different countries represented at the Westman Multicultural Festival this week.

The 17th annual festival runs through Saturday and features 11 pavilions in various locations around Brandon.

An opening ceremony kicked off the festival at the WIS Multicultural Centre with entertainment from each pavilion, starting with a traditional dance from a group of Salvadorans.

“We’re doing a carnival song, which is very popular in our country, and it’s called the xuc,” said Jackie Muñoz, the secretary of the El Salvador pavilion. She said the song is performed on special occasions in her country.

Some dancers in the group referred to as Shipaki — which translates to “be happy and have fun” in the Nahuatl language — planned to perform one song at the opening ceremony while the others entertained folks at the El Salvador pavilion, Muñoz said.

“Our group of dancers, they have done an amazing job. They’ve been actually rehearsing since the beginning of last year,” she said.

The dancers are scheduled to perform every 30 minutes and have practised between 16 to 18 songs, “so each show will be different,” Muñoz said.

“They want to leave their heart, you know, with everyone in Brandon,” she said, adding that there’s no better way to demonstrate how beautiful El Salvador is than by showcasing their authentic dances, clothing and food.

Jaqueline Hernandez Rivas was one of roughly 15 Salvadoran dancers to take the stage on Thursday, wearing a blue and white ceremonial dress.

“I am very proud of my culture, and I want to show it to everyone,” she said.

She has been dancing in the festival since 2013 and recently took on a choreographer role. Hernandez Rivas said she has been working the dancers “to the bone” with practices every weekend since the fall to prepare for the festival.

“A lot of the songs that we’re performing during this next three days (have) either been redone from what people saw last year, or they’re completely new.”

Andrea Guzman and her 11-year-old daughter Leslie Castillo were both feeling excited to have the chance to perform together at the pavilion.

“I’m coming back after a few years of not dancing, but my daughter wants to dance, so I decided to dance with her,” Guzman said.

“We have different dresses because we have different places, from El Salvador, that we wear different kind of outfits,” she said.

Castillo told the Sun that she felt nervous to dance for a large crowd of more than 75 people, but then “it gets fun.”

“I think it’s really important that people know about other like cultures,” she said.

The El Salvador pavilion is at the North End Community Centre at 1313 Stickney Ave. today from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday from noon until 11 p.m.

People can attend the pavilions free of charge with the exception of food and drinks.

Muñoz said the three main dishes at the El Salvador pavilion are pupusas — a “staple dish,” pan con pollo, which is a chicken sandwich packed with flavour, and enchiladas that can be filled with meats and vegetables. The dishes range from $15 to $20, she said.

Muñoz said she is most excited to show off her cultural roots at the pavilion and described her country as a “gem in the middle of Central America.”

She encourages people to come to the pavilion for a tropical escape to get a sense of the culture and country, which will hopefully inspire them to travel there, she said.

At the Mexico pavilion, strands of papel picado hung from the ceiling of the Brandon Shrine Club at 1110 McTavish Ave. East and Mexican flags were taped along the walls.

Mexican pavilion chairperson Carlos Muñoz, who has no relation to Jackie Muñoz, said it’s an honour to be participating this year after they took a break from the festival in 2025.

“We are very proud to be Mexican and have the opportunity to showcase a little bit of our country to the Canadians and the other cultures as well,” Carlos said.

His goal is to make Brandonites feel like they’re in Mexico “for a couple hours,” he said.

People can get a plate of food that costs between $10 and $20.

The food is drawn from the menu of Mariachi Mexican Tacos and Cantina, Carlos said. It includes homemade guacamole and chips, chicken tortilla soup, a Mexican platter with chicken tinga, pork with potatoes, rice and beans, and desserts like tres leches cake and buñuelos.

Brenda Gonzalez, a singer from British Columbia, performed four shows on Thursday night that were a musical tribute to Selena Quintanilla — a famous Mexican-American singer in the 1990s.

“I’ve been singing her songs since I was 16 years old,” Gonzalez said.

“I love Selena’s music, and I love all the traditional Mexican songs that we’re doing tonight, and they’re very special.”

This is her first year performing at the Westman Multicultural Festival. She planned to sing about 32 songs on Thursday night.

A dance group from Saskatoon called Bailatinas will also make an appearance at the pavilion.

Carlos said Bailatinas and Gonzalez will have four shows today between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. and seven shows on Saturday, starting at noon and continuing until 10 p.m. The pavilion will have an after-party tonight and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a live DJ.

Carlos said the pavilion has been recognized as a place “where people like to party.”

» tadamski@brandonsun.com