Q + A: Sunfest duo on festival’s milestone, magical moments

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Sunfest celebrates its 30th birthday this week, and Alfredo Caxaj, who founded the festival and is its co-artistic director, and his daughter Mercedes Caxaj, co-artist director, look back at the festival’s launch and early years and look ahead to this year’s edition. Nearly 50 performers from 20 countries will appear on five stages at Victoria Park in London over the four-day world music party that begins Thursday.

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Q: How do you feel about the festival turning 30?

A: It’s been an incredibly long journey full of barriers and obstacles, but it has also been full of incredible satisfactions. The very first years were the most challenging ones while establishing the festival and making sure that it created a space for this community where people could come regardless of cultural background or socioeconomic status – a place for people to go and enjoy culture and music from all over the world.

Q: Where did the idea for Sunfest come from?

A: I’m an immigrant from Guatemala and one of the things that shook me culturally in the most positive way was precisely to see the diversity of people in this country, not necessarily London at that time. I was a percussionist with a band, and we performed at a few festivals back then. We just thought that doing a festival in London could reflect that diversity through music and art. That was one of the best things that we could do.

Q: How about the festival’s logo, the familiar face, with eyes of different colours and rays in the shape of people?

A: The sun is a universal symbol in all cultures. It brings energy and unites people and that’s what we saw. This is the most representative name and is accepted by people from different backgrounds.

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Q: As an immigrant, what does the festival represent to you and the community?

A: It’s not just a festival. It’s a social project that really aims to bring the whole community together. That has been the main goal. Of course we’ve been able to expand the lineup, artists, and vendors but seeing the reaction of people that just come with having so much joy and enjoyment, that’s something that you cannot buy. It’s simply something magical is happening, without people being concerned about their skin colour or the language they speak.

Q: What’s one of the festival’s most significant accomplishments?

A: One of the most amazing things we have accomplished is keeping this festival free to attend. Making it accessible to everyone was the main goal, the main mandate, from the moment we established the festival.

Q: Was there a difficult moment for the festival through its three decades?

A: (Mercedes) The pandemic was difficult. It was very challenging, just like anybody else in the music and live event industry. It took a lot of work to be sure that we could stick around as an organization. It was a positive time in terms of collaboration; things that you wouldn’t think possible became possible.

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Q: Is there Sunfest edition that’s defined its success?

A: It was when we celebrated our 20th edition and the festival had the largest audience that we have ever experienced. The park was jam-packed. People came from all over to see someone because they were coming and didn’t believe the Cuban band Los Van Van was playing in London, Ontario, in a free admission festival.

Q: How far along has the festival come in terms of lineup?

A: (Mercedes) International acts are reaching out to us for them to come to the festival because they’ve heard so much about it. We get invited by so many international music markets to go and see the artists performing. We’re part of a network of international festivals, putting London on the map.

Q: What did the festival look like in the beginning?

A: We started very small because the most important thing for us was to establish the festivals. There was a very, very small budget, but we wanted to do it right. We planned to establish it in 1994 but didn’t have enough resources. The following year, even though it rained a lot, the rest of the weekend was very sunny and beautiful, and that was more than enough for people to fall in love with the festival. During the first five to seven years, we used that formula with grants, and eventually, we were able to secure a corporate sponsor from Western Union in 2000 and TD Bank came in 2008.

Q: Are you planning to take a break from the festival or plan a vacation for next summer?

A: Personally, I don’t even think about stopping. This is a baby that was initially a family creation, beautiful and embraced by the community. We don’t want this baby to go with anyone because we’re really attached. Mercedes is the next generation, and hopefully, we’ll keep expanding our team with younger people.

bbaleeiro@postmedia.com,

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