Glasto Latino

[Arriente]

I spent a lot of time in the SE areas this year. The Common, Block9, Shangri-La and The Unfairground were all brilliant, but Glasto Latino just seemed like a waste of space to me and a bit of a fail among far superior areas nearby. Every time we walked through the field there was nothing at all going on, both day and night.

I was interested to see how it fitted in to the area, but guess it didn't (that is certainly what we felt)

Was it ever open? Did anyone do anything in that area?

[CaledonianGonzo]

Went to see Ondatropica in there after Bobby Womack late on Sunday night.

It was OFF THE RUDDY DIAL.

For that alone it earned a special place in my heart.

[Arriente]

Went to see Ondatropica in there after Bobby Womack late on Sunday night.

It was OFF THE RUDDY DIAL.

For that alone it earned a special place in my heart.

[rachbon]

I walked through a few times during the day and thought that the field was quite big for the amount of stuff in it, although I don't know if there was more going on at night.

[Northernsoul45]

personally i'd expand shangri-la into that field, as seemed a bit of a waste what they had in there otherwise.

(was that field/area where Arcadia was before?)

only really stoppped off in there on the thursday afternoon as the rain started, got an argentinian chorizo baguette and hid from the rain within the latino tent.

[bamber]

Went to see Ondatropica in there after Bobby Womack late on Sunday night.

It was OFF THE RUDDY DIAL.

For that alone it earned a special place in my heart.

[helen-8]

I stopped there to have a nice relaxing cider on Saturday and got dragged up to salsa dance with a Cuban street dancing group.

My salsa dancing was pants but it was a great laugh!

[ghandi]

Passed through there on Thursday night, not much there but happened to spot a naked lady in that artists tent, i thought we'd go in for the crack ended up sketching the rather fetching temptress, i had to put my Rum and Coke down though , started to really get into it, i used to be an O level art student ( not good enough for A level), it was a really good laugh though!

[Alister]

OK well I can speak as "Mr Glasto Latino" :-)

We've only just been upgraded to an area from being just a tent, and our budget is a tiny fraction of what Shangri-La or Block 9 have to spend, so we have to concentrate our resources. There's a _dynamite_ band every night after the big stages finish - CaledonianGonzo caught Ondatropica, but the other nights featured fantastic sets, just as good, from international Latin artists - if not as well-known in this country. After that we have top Latin DJs and the tent stays packed.

In the afternoons we have salsa classes, which seem to be more popular every year, with chilled Cuban acoustic sets in between.

So tell the festival to give us more money, and we'll put on more during other times - we have plenty of ideas!

Edited July 4, 2013 by Alister

[CaledonianGonzo]

*shouts*

OI EAVIS! GIVE GLASTO LATINO MORE MONEY!

(Though by all means open the remit to allow artists of an even more international / Caribbean flavour. Late night calypso is what I'm talking about)

[MrMac]

I liked that it was a bit quieter there to be honest - somewhere to bimble around in and get away from the masses for a while.

EDIT: If you could get Le Labobar back from 2010, I'd be very happy - although I guess they aren't very Latino.

Edited July 4, 2013 by MrMac

[arcade fireman]

I definitely wouldn't get rid of it, we went there, grabbed some mojitos, sat for a bit in the sunshine and then walked over to West Holts to see Ondatropica. It does need some modifications - "more money" is something I'm sure every stage (bar maybe Pyramid and Other) would ideally like.

I think what it needs most is more publicity, it's a great spot that I think a lot of people would like, but it's tucked away right at the end of the site and the only way of knowing about it is by seeing it listed on the map. A few more people there and there becomes a real buzz/party atmosphere about the place, which is what you need from a place like this.

Mind you, I am speaking as someone with a real passion for Latin/South America. Not sure how well it would work in the rain.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Small acorns and all that. The Common started off as a bit of a backwater in 2010, and look at it now.

In fact, I suppose that - via Cubana - this is really Son of The Common. Maybe some thematic diversifying is required with one field going crazy with the Latin American vibe and the other heading elsewhere in the world - to the Far east or Africa, perhaps.

[bsolxiv]

OK well I can speak as "Mr Glasto Latino" :-)

We've only just been upgraded to an area from being just a tent, and our budget is a tiny fraction of what Shangri-La or Block 9 have to spend, so we have to concentrate our resources. There's a _dynamite_ band every night after the big stages finish - CaledonianGonzo caught Ondatropica, but the other nights featured fantastic sets, just as good, from international Latin artists - if not as well-known in this country. After that we have top Latin DJs and the tent stays packed.

In the afternoons we have salsa classes, which seem to be more popular every year, with chilled Cuban acoustic sets in between.

So tell the festival to give us more money, and we'll put on more during other times - we have plenty of ideas!

[Alister]

Replies:

OK, firstly we're not "Son of the Common" - our first salsa tent was in Theatre & Circus in 2007, then we spent 2 years in Dance Village, only in 2010 did we team up with Cubana and were put into the brand-new Common, where we were shrunk to accommodate all their attractions. Last time in Holts....

It's difficult for small stages to attract publicity, though there was a full page in the programme this year, plus for historical reasons the sound allocation expires at 3am rather than 5 as the rest of the Naughty Corner. But Michael thinks this is a good location for us.

As for the DJs - to be accurate, the DJing was between the acts Fri and Sat, our Cuban Son band finished the night at 3. On sunday we thought it would be like previous years - everyone being knackered we'd have music for 1/2 hr and the tent would be empty, but this time people rocked until close.

Very hard to plan when you're in a new location every time, and you can't predict flow of people, but the feedback from those who caught what we did has been overwhelmingly positive, so who knows, we might be asked again.

[CaledonianGonzo]

OK, firstly we're not "Son of the Common" - our first salsa tent was in Theatre & Circus in 2007, then we spent 2 years in Dance Village, only in 2010 did we team up with Cubana and were put into the brand-new Common, where we were shrunk to accommodate all their attractions. Last time in Holts....

[Alister]

No criticism or super -silliness read :-) Just clarifying

In such a huge event, even a 1200-capacity venue like ours can be off most people's radar lol

[bigbilly]

I liked the area. Nice and chilled. Great cocktails as well! However I reckon it's hard to find your area. It's quite out the way and most people wouldn't find it. Bit gutted I never tried the smoke house food stall :-)

[fur_q]

It didn't really feel like the right location this year but I suppose that has something to do with the budget, had the cash been there to transform the whole field in a kind of Cuban carnival with more than just a single tent, with a few food stalls, I think it could have really worked and been quite refreshing in that area (a late night bit that wasn't full on face chewers all night) but I feel this year it just lacked the wow factor of the other SE fields and that meant that I really didn't feel like staying on to see what was in the field. if ME thinks that's the right location then he need to up the budget as their is in way you can compete with shangrila/block9 with what you had this time.

[TomfromStroud]

I had a mojito there. It was rather weak. Suggest stronger mojitos might help create more of a buzz in the area. This would lead to more mojito sales and help Alister raise more cash to fund more stuff. Job done.

Edited July 5, 2013 by TomfromStroud

[whisty]

Never seen the venue before but decided to go there Thursday evening after my mate read the program and the band description sounded good. Now let me explain, I'm not usually found dancing other than the odd wobbly head and sway of body but the band that played and the crowd saw me turning round in circles, 3 steps forward, 3 back, arms to one side then the other, well you'll get the picture hopefully, by the way, I was only doing what the rest of the people on the dance floor were doing

Brilliant start to my festival, makes me smile every time I think about it. Hope you guys are there next year in full force and I'll certailnly get there at some point, assuming I get a ticket.

Can't remeber the bands name and no program to hand right now, but hats off to them.

[ICGenie]

It didn't really feel like the right location this year but I suppose that has something to do with the budget, had the cash been there to transform the whole field in a kind of Cuban carnival with more than just a single tent, with a few food stalls, I think it could have really worked and been quite refreshing in that area (a late night bit that wasn't full on face chewers all night) but I feel this year it just lacked the wow factor of the other SE fields and that meant that I really didn't feel like staying on to see what was in the field. if ME thinks that's the right location then he need to up the budget as their is in way you can compete with shangrila/block9 with what you had this time.

[Arriente]

I hope you are back next year in either a much higher budget, or a better location so those who want the experience are not put off by the " naughty area" attachment.

If they are going to put you between Block9 and The Common then you deserve a budget to match.

[IbizaPrincess]

We has great dacquiris at Latino, we actually went back the next day for them.

The location in 2010 was better for passers by I think

[eoinca]

We spent most of Thursday afternoon in there sheltering from the rain, had a great time! Loved the Churros as well.