SummerStage on Staten Island: Experience La Isla Bonita

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With a puppet show for kids and three impressive music artists in the line-up, La Isla Bonita Festival partnered City Parks SummerStage Concert Series on Saturday night in Corporal Thompson Park. About two hundred revelers danced on the park lawn, West Brighton, despite the wind and burst of rain.

The live entertainment followed a presentation by Lemon Anderson, a Tony Award-winning poet, playwright and Brooklyn native.

What is La Isla Bonita? This is a festival started three years ago that celebrates a love for Staten Island life, particularly its diversity, says its founders -- Colombia-born, S.I.-based artist Lina Montoya and Natalia Linares. Linares established ISLA, an initiative that fosters global and local arts, culture and activism. The first event was at Faber Park.

"Our vision is to build a 'people's festival' on Staten Island and celebrate how colorful we are here. We're trying to celebrate all the colors of Staten Island. The fact that we're so colorful it makes us strong. We're trying to put out a vision of what Staten Island can be," says Linares.

Butterflies have become associated with the event as it represents migration as a symbol of a community's evolution. Montoya whose work includes the head-turning butterfly installation at the base of Jewett Avenue called "Mariposas Amarillas" was recently granted a butterfly light installation at Corporal Thompson Park.

After years of collaborations among City Parks, Staten Island Arts, Partnerships for Parks and California organization Sol Collective, the event now blends City Parks' SummerStage Concert Series with the La Isla Bonita concept.

The vibrant music pulled festival-goers to their feet starting with DJs Ushka and Beto as "iBomba" and blending into the Latin sounds of M.A.K.U. SoundSystem. The last act was Las Cafeteras, a six-piece group with a modern blend on traditional music and dance with a sprinkling of flamenco.

Food included cupcakes and cookies vended from Grace Kelly, a home-based bakery business, and Mexican food from Tacos La Carcachita, a food truck that makes regular appearances on Port Richmond Avenue around lunchtime. Several local artists sold renderings and paintings.

"It's the first time we were invited to a festival on Staten Island. It's not a place we would come visit so it was an actual bridging moment here," said Colombian-born musician Juan Ospina of M.A.K.U. SoundSystem.

"What I felt today is an actual bridge of culture in times that we can't forget our roots," said Ospina.

Also in Corporal Thompson Park, Sunday, July 22: GINUWINE | THE LADIES OF PINK DIAMOND | DJ STACKS

Before Ginuwine lassoed that "Magic Mike" soundtrack, he was a leader in the '90s R&B explosion. The headlining provocateur, known for the iconic R&B jam "Pony," rides his rhythms into town with an assist Staten Island's own DJ Stacks and the Pink Diamond steppers from 5 to 7 p.m.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.