Saluting the cuisine, heritage and music of Guatemala, the 10th annual Festival Chapin returned to Lafayette Park on Saturday.
The event will continue through Sunday, and is free to all ages, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The 10th Annual Festival Chapín de Los Angeles, a free-to-attend celebration of Guatemalan culture, began in Lafayette Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Photo by Jacob Lewis, Contributing Photographer)
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The 10th Annual Festival Chapín de Los Angeles, a free-to-attend celebration of Guatemalan culture, began in Lafayette Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Photo by Jacob Lewis, Contributing Photographer)
The festival returns to the Los Angeles area after having been cancelled last year amid concern over amped-up federal immigration raids in the city.
Radio Viejo, a popular rock act with its roots in the 1980s, was scheduled to perform, as well as Guatemalan-American pop star Mari and traditional Marimba bands.
The event gets its name from “Chapín,” a word used by Guatemalans to describe their culture.
Festival Chapín is the largest Guatemalan festival outside of the Central American country according to the event’s organizers.
Los Angeles County is home to more than 150,000 people of Guatemalan heritage, with hearty concentrations in the cities of Hawthorne, Inglewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Palmdale and Paramount, and also Lennox and Val Verde (unincorporated areas).