Presented by Cultural Coalition and Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA), the 13th Annual El Puente Festival welcomes multigenerational families to celebrate the cultural arts at this beloved free youth focused event on Saturday, April 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each year Cultural Coalition brings together a variety of talented youth and professional performing arts groups from across the Valley to showcase traditional cultural arts such as ballet folklórico, mariachi, storytelling, and more.
Throughout the day, attendees can enjoy musical concerts in the Studio, hoop dancing on the patio, storytelling and folklórico performances in the lobby, with interactive arts and crafts activities throughout the event. In addition to all of the free performances, the event will also feature free bilingual books from the Barrio Book Mobile, and tasty delights from local food vendors.

“El Puente”, Spanish for bridge, has served as a metaphor for the many themes built into this festival. Cultural Coalitions’ mission to connect communities and generations through the cultural arts is exemplified in the spirit of this event. Each of the performances, whether music, dance, or storytelling, is either by youth or specifically tailored to engage youth in that traditional artform. This event is designed to bridge generations through culture and connect communities through the arts.
“The children are the most important part of this festival,” shares Cultural Coalition Executive Director Carmen Guerrero. “We are excited to be able to partner with Tempe Center for the Arts to provide professional spaces for these youth to perform and engage with the arts, their culture, and share with their families.”

A favorite part of this event for attendees is to participate in the community procession across the Tempe Pedestrian Bridge. Wearing a mask they made, holding a totem, or joining the drum line, everyone is invited to be part of this colorful, vibrant tradition. Complete with masked characters and giant puppets designed by Cultural Coalition Artistic Director and Master Sculptor Zarco Guerrero, all ages are invited to parade across the bridge and celebrate our community coming together in the annual group photograph taken by the lake.

El Puente Festival is made possible thanks in part to the support of the City of Tempe, Raza Development Fund, SRP, Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts, and individual donors. While all performances at the festival are free, those in the Studio require a free ticket which can be reserved at the TCA Box Office at tempecenterforthearts.com/events/tca-box-office. Visit the El Puente event page at culturalcoalition.com/elpuente/ for more details.