Juanes to Headline Chile’s First Bamba Festival, a New Latin Music Event Built Around Intimacy and Scale

Juanes is helping launch a new Latin music festival in Chile, and he is also set to headline its first edition. Bamba will debut in October, with the Colombian artist cofounding the event alongside Lotus, the production company behind Lollapalooza Chile, and the management team led by Rafael Restrepo.

The festival is being framed as more than just another date on the regional live-music calendar. According to the announcement, Bamba is designed to raise the bar for Latin music events by pairing large-scale production with the kind of hospitality that tends to get talked about less, even though it shapes how these weekends actually feel. In Juanes’ words, the project was created to bring the experience of the music “to another level.” He added: “We want to celebrate Latin talent and identity with the production quality of the world’s greatest stages, while maintaining that intimacy and warmth that define us. It is a space where our cultures meet to proudly celebrate who we are.”

The first Bamba is scheduled for Oct. 24 and 25 at Parque O’Higgins in Santiago, and its lineup leans into the broad, cross-generational sweep that usually signals an ambitious festival trying to define itself quickly. Alongside Juanes, the bill includes Marc Anthony, Fito Páez, Carlos Vives, Bomba Estéreo, Elena Rose, Orishas, Conociendo Rusia, Gale and Paloma Morphy, who won the 2025 Latin Grammy for best new artist. The booking reaches across rock, pop, alternative and dance, which makes sense for a festival trying to present Latin music not as a single lane, but as a field with its own internal range.

Lotus director Sebastián de la Barra described that same idea from the organizer’s side, saying the goal is to let audiences experience Latin American music “in a new dimension,” while still keeping the atmosphere closer to a major concert than a sprawling, impersonal event. “We have designed a gathering featuring spacious settings and genuine hospitality, where the warmth of our spirit allows for a full connection with the music and energy of our region,” he said.

More information is available on the festival’s website.