Ruido Fest rocks in a new location for 2021

Ruido Fest is a three-day Latin music festival held in Chicago in the summertime. It was founded in 2015 and was on a roll every year until the pandemic forced the festival to be skipped in 2020. For 2021, there was a triumphant return for the "noise" fest in a new location in Union Park after the previous Addams/Medill Park spot.

It seemed fitting that Cafe Tecvba played the first Ruido Fest and closed the festival this year. It is a possible bookend to fresh things to come in the future for the unique fiesta.

On Friday, August 20, Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles brought their eclectic style to the Ruido Stage in the evening. The group is known for their strong live shows that always have spectators singing along to the catchy tune "Cuchi Cuchi."

After their set, crowds moved over to the Tecate Stage for the spirited performer Silverio. He did a DJ set of his tunes and cussed like a Mexican sailor, although he is in fact Puerto Rican. The revved up audience began moshing to the music and throwing cans at the artist.

He took the antics in stride and ended his act by stripping completely naked before leaving the stage.

Caifanes, the rock band from Mexico City, played after him at the opposite stage after replacing previous headliners Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, who had to cancel this year because of travel logistics. The weather was perfect for the evening and the crowd went wild for their classic hit "La Negra Tomasa."

The weather became challenging the following day causing many ticket holders to be delayed before entering. The always entertaining Ivy Queen and electronic band Moenia appeased the minions after the sun came out and created singalongs to their many popular hits.

Ska band Panteon Rococo closed out the evening and Cafe Tecvba ended the festivities on Sunday.

Ruido Fest is different from many of the other Chicago music festivals in the way that there is a sense of community. It gives the chance for people to come together and celebrate their heritage. At times the Latin community can be divided, but this is an opportunity to unite with music and forget our differences. The food, art vendors and Lucha libre wrestling ring all added to the environment. Chicago HIV agency CALOR even brought a drag queen to encourage health testing to people that walked by their tent to big success.

If the organizers continue to book big names, then the awareness for the festival will grow more each year. The event could bring in a younger crowd with reggaeton acts like J Balvin or Bad Bunny. How about El Alfa as a headliner in 2022? We can only cross our fingers and see what the team comes up with next at RuidoFest.com.