By: Fredwill Hernandez
They say history sometimes repeats itself, and if you were fortunate to be in Napa Valley, California, a few days leading up to the second annual La Onda Latin music festival, it was very evident there was excitement in the air. There was more foot traffic, you had to wait a little longer to be seated if you wanted to eat, and there was a presence of California Highway Patrol Officers, who were getting ready for street closures and so forth.
Many, including myself, who were there were highly anticipating the start of the second annual music festival, which was held in Napa Valley, CA, on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1.
For the second straight year, the festival featured a very impressive, diverse, and multi-generational roster that included Marco Antonio Solis, Banda MS, Pepe Aguilar, Xavi, Tito Double P, Chino Pacas, Camila Fernandez, Los Aptos, Sonora Tropicana, MAR, Edgar Alejandro, Christian Nava, Carín León, Eden Muñoz, Codiciado, Oscar Maydon, Ángelar Aguilar, Clave Especial, Alicia Villarreal, Michelle Maciel, Reyna Tropical, Miguel Cornejo, Erre, Los De La 4, Adriana Rios, Isreal Barajas, among others, including DJs such as Subelo Neo, Caleb Calloway, Mexican Institute of Sound, Cornetto, DJ Lico, Rayben, and Bonnz.
The organizers overcame significant challenges — including the sudden cancellation of two of the main performers, fan-favorite Grupo Firme and new comers Mexican band La Receta because of visa problems. Despite a few setbacks, Bottlerock’s La Onda festival still solidified itself, in my opinion, as the top Latin music festival not just in Northern California but in the country.
The two-day festival was the brainchild of Dave Graham, who along with partners Justin Dragoo, and Jason Scoggins, makes up Latitude 38, the company that has produced and brought to life the BottleRock music festivals for eleven years. Latitude 38 has a head start based on analytics, and data, and knew among other things that Latinos have become California’s largest ethnic group, and Napa’s population is made up of 41 percent Latinos, with the vast majority being Mexican. It is my opinion that this data and previous knowledge were taken into account when deciding to launch an all-Latin music festival.
“There are some great Latin music festivals out there, but none of this scale in Northern California. We live in a wonderfully diverse region, but our Latin communities and those who love Latin music have not had a multi-day festival to call their own. We’re excited to be able to provide that with La Onda,” said Dave Graham, Partner and CEO of Latitude 38 Entertainment, who produced and brought the festival to life.
La Onda also featured Mariachi performers, and Aztec ceremonies, including Calpulli Anahuak who performed twice daily near the Verizon stage, which included their customary rituals of burning frankincense, and drumming. It showcased, among other beverages and brands, featured 11 local wines from Latino-owned wineries such as Aldina Vineyard, Bazán Cellars, Ceja Vineyards, Honrama Cellars, MaCo Vineyards, Maldonado Vineyards, RObledo Family Winery, Vintner’s Diary, and Shot Caller Wine Company. All of these are members of the Mexican American Vintners Association (MAVA), a group that promotes Latino owned and produced wines. If you were one of the lucky ones who attended the two-day festival, it quickly became evident that Latitude 38 had done their homework and everything they had planned worked.
Another big difference, in my opinion, was that the La Onda Latin music festival seemed to have way more sponsors than you typically see, or that I’ve seen, at other Latin music festivals. This could be due, in my opinion, to their carrying over from the BottleRock music festival, with the same infrastructure, the weekend before La Onda, or it could be that companies and brands are finally realizing, catching up, and wanting to capitalize on the importance of Hispanic demographics and our spending power, based primarily on the new numbers of the Latino GDP which is now 4 trillion dollars annually. These numbers were also published by the Latino Donor Collective through a BusinessWire press release published on May 28, 2025. “The best way to reach that demographic is through the music, Latin music in my case,” explains Fredwill Hernandez, Latin music journalist, consultant, and artist manager, who among other roles within the Latin music realm, also dubs as VP Artist Relations, Latin for the HITMKR, a direct-to-fan music distribution ecosystem. “As I stated in my write-up last year on the inaugural La Onda Latin music fest, everything about La Onda just felt different; things were strategically placed and positioned. I was also surprised to see the large skeleton catrinas and dog statues, which are synonymous with Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebration that La Onda also had. Having the lucha libre wrestling matches is nothing new to other Latin music festivals; what did surprise me, though, were the lowrider show cars [from San Francisco’s Street Made Car Club], which are synonymous with Chicano and street Cholo culture. La Onda, for example, had a spa, something I’ve never seen at any other Latin music festival.”
If you walked around the family-friendly Latin music festival, one of the biggest differences, in my opinion, was that the festival did not feel like a festival. As you walked around, it felt like being at an amusement park or visiting Disneyland. This was due to everything being properly spaced out, curated, and having two main stages, along with three other areas that stood out, such as the Silent Disco, the Retumba Stage, and the Club. The Silent Disco and the Club were big rooms with everything you would find when you attend a nightclub: the bars, dance floor, lights, DJ booth, and booths for sitting and eating. Everything seemed to complement what was nearby, and there were unique activations like a ring featuring masked lucha libre wrestlers, as well as sixty local eateries offering great food and drinks from Napa Valley, Sonoma County, and the surrounding greater Bay Area which served everything from churros, tortas, tacos, birria, ceviche, paletas, nachos, and aguas frescas. Among them was Merkado, a San Francisco restaurant that definitely made their presence felt.
The musical lineup was top-notch, offering raggaeton, EDM, Latin pop, corridos tumbados, cumbia, popular Mexican music, and rancheras. Verizon, which sponsored the Regional Mexican stage — one of the two main stages – also allowed certain attendees to view the performances from their elevated VIP viewing deck, strategically located near the stage with premium bars, diverse culinary options, comfortable seating, and shade, and easy access corridors between the two main stages to avoid the crowd.
Among the acts to perform at the Verizon stage were Christian Nava, Los Aptos, Edgar Alejandro, Chino Pacas, Xavi, Banda MS, Adriana Rios, Erre, Clave Especial, Oscar Maydon, and Tito Double P, who was originally going to perform on Saturday, May 31, and switched to Sunday, June 1, to fill the void left by Grupo Firme’s absence.
“It’s a full-circle moment for me, coming back to Napa after so many years,” eloquently explained Christian Nava, the young Regional Mexican singer/songwriter who kicked things off on the first day of the festival at the Verizon stage. “I was born here in Napa, then I moved to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Mexico, so yes, it feels awesome, chingón as the Mexicans say, to come back to Napa as a singer. I was waiting for a moment like this to release new music, now that I have sort of been getting my feet wet as a composer/songwriter with recent songwriting collaborations on the singles “Chrome Corazón” and “Mi Vida Mi Muerte,” both featured on Neton Vega’s hit album titled “Mi Vida Mi Muerte.”
Last year during the inaugural La Onda festival it was interesting that young Ranchera heartthrob Alex Fernandez, the grandson of the late Vicente Fernandez, who also followed in his father’s footsteps by singing Rancheras, kicked things off as the opening act at the Verizon stage. Coincidently, it was interesting that his father, Alejandro Fernandez, was on the same bill, performing on the same stage as the headliner to close the first night.
This year, coincidentally, MAR, the daughter of Marco Antonio Solis, took the stage at La Onda, while her father was the main act closing the festival on Saturday, May 31, at the same venue. They weren’t the only father-daughter duo to perform. Angela Aguilar, daughter of ranchera singer Pepe Aguilar, also appeared on the La Onda stage on Sunday, June 1, with her father performing there the day before, also by coincidence.
In music, success often depends on perfect timing. I believe La Onda also took advantage of the gap left by Chicago’s Ruidofest, the three-day Latin music event that, from its fourth edition in 2018 through its last in 2022, was regarded by many—including myself—as the leading Latin music festival in the nation, featuring at least 50 different Latin artists over the course of the three days. But not even in Ruidofest’s heyday did it have anything similar or close to what La Onda offers and curates. Latitude 38 also acknowledged the significance of highlighting wines made specifically by Latino winemakers from the Napa Valley, California area, and nearby regions. These wines are just as exceptional, if not superior, to many European varieties. By supporting one another and sharing Latin music, they gain global recognition through La Onda.
Just seconds after the festival concluded, the dates for the 2026 La Onda Latin music festival were revealed. The event is set to take place on May 30 and May 31, the weekend following the Bottlerock Napa Valley Festival, at the Napa Valley Expo in Napa, California.
