Mauricio Duarte divides his time between monitoring systems as computer engineer at an IT company, and as a musician, turning his keyboard sounds into chords full of the rhythm of his Latin culture.

Duarte is from Colombia and he is member of Son Latino, which he describes as “the only authentic Latin band in Halifax.”

Son Latino plays contemporary covers from Latin America, including rhythms like salsa, merengue, reggaeton and more. Its members are from Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Canada.

According to Duarte being part of Son Latino has not only allowed him to express his art, but also to meet many of the Latin people who live in Halifax.

“The Latin community in Halifax is small, when I wasn’t in the band it was very hard for me to connect to the Latin community.” He says.

The Spanish-speaking community in Nova Scotia grew 31.6 per cent from 2011 to 2016, according to an analysis of Statistics Canada’s most recent data that tracts mother tongue.

There are 2,040 persons in the Province who reported Spanish as their mother tongue in the census 2016. This number represents 0.2 per cent of the total population of the province according to the same analysis.

Mauricio Duarte is one of them.

There are three areas in Halifax where most Spanish speaking people are concentrated.

1. The area bordered by Robie Street, Inglis Street, Queen Street and South Street.
2. The area bordered by Bicentennial Drive, Moirs Mill Road, Bedford Highway and Larry Uteck Boulevard.
3. The area bordered by Lacewood Drive, Dumbrack Street, Washmill Lake Drive and Bicentennial Drive.

This map shows the census tracks of people who reported Spanish as their mother tongue in Halifax. The darker colours represent areas with the highest number of people who reported Spanish as their mother tongue and the lighter colours, the lowest number. Click on each census track to see the details.

Duarte has lived in Halifax for three years and since then, he lives in an apartment located on South Street.

“The area works out because my job is very close. Shopping is very close, downtown is very close. As a musician I play in bars around the city and this location is central.” he says.

His mom and brother live in the same block. Some of his Latin friends live next door, a guy from Argentina and two Cubans.

Another person who is committed to spread the Hispanic culture in the Province is Magaly Dam-Mazzi, a Peruvian born Professor in the Department of Spanish and Latin American studies of Dalhousie University and President of Latispánica Cultural Association, a non-profit organization founded in 2012.

Dam-Mazzi was one of the people who came out with the idea of creating Latispánica.

“We wanted to represent and promote the Hispanic cultures. Show Canadians that Latin people is not only about beer and party, but a rich and diverse culture.” She says.

Their main event is an annual Gala that includes food, performances and dances from different Hispanic countries.

This year they partnered with the Halifax Public Libraries and they’ll offer five workshops in the upcoming months, focused on cooking classes, cumbia lessons, and more.

Latispánica is fully run by volunteers and according to Dam-Mazzi, even though every year they struggle getting volunteers, they wish keep sharing the Hispanic culture with more and more people.

A future with Latin flavor

When asked about the future, Mauricio Duarte smiled.

“I guess the future of the band will be maybe to come up with our own songs or come up with an album with covers or originals. We still need to work on our website, on getting more corporate gigs and make the band more a business”. He says.