This Sunday, tens of thousands of people were jammed downtown again – but this time not for the Canucks but to celebrate Carnaval del Sol. The festival featured authentic Latin American open-air food and a great market place, Salsa and Zumba street-dancing, performances by a variety acts (including Rio Samaya, Aquizamin Garcia, Liliam Santamaria, Sergio Flores, Coral Fusion Latina, Tanga, Mexico Vivo,Dominicanisima and Spanish Passion’s Flamenco Latino) as well as my highlight, a soccer game between the Latin Consulate (an amalgamation of the various Latin diplomatic personnel in town) vs. a team led by Mayor Gregor Robertson, Councillor Andrea Reimer and a squad of Vision Vancouver supporters.
The game was fun and the first time I’ve played in front of hundreds of 
people. A huge rush. At the end of 20 min of hard play with a ball only slightly bigger than an orange, Vision won 2-1. It was a stark turnaround from last year when we got hammered 7 or 8 (I stopped counting at six points) to 0.
Latincouver was the first time large crowds had come together downtown since the riot. One of the neatest things about this festival was its energy. It was as if the whole city was out, ready to enjoy the sun and move on from the dark stains left on our city by the riot. The positive energy was a stark contrast to the images of angry crowds and burning cars from a week and half ago.
It also underlined that Vancouverites can still celebrate in our city (and in big numbers). While the riot has robbed our city of its unblemished reputation, fortunately, it hasn’t taken from us our ability to gather and celebrate on mass. I truly hope this continues to be the case.