Update: Tamarindo Festival, a highly anticipated Afro-Latin music festival planned by Adobo DMV and Broccoli City, will no longer take place in May as originally scheduled, the organizers announced Tuesday.

The festival could take place “in the future at a different time,” according to the announcement, which provided no explanation for the cancellation. The original event was slated to take place at the RFK Festival Grounds.

The festival was intended to be a celebration of the D.C. region’s diversity, Adobo DMV co-founder Pedro Night told DCist/WAMU in February, when the festival was first announced. The original lineup included popular Latin American DJs, rappers, and singers from across the area and the globe. Night did not immediately respond to a DCist/WAMU inquiry Tuesday.

The organizers say they will refund all ticket purchases within 30 business days and that ticketholders should “stay tuned” for updates on other events from the organizers that may happen the weekend of May 5-7, the weekend the festival was supposed to be held.

Original: D.C.-area fans of music, dancing, and good times have something new to look forward to this spring. Tamarindo Festival, an Afro-Latin music festival from two of the biggest multicultural events companies in the region, is coming to the RFK Stadium grounds May 6, organizers announced Wednesday.

The festival, from Adobo DMV and Broccoli City, will showcase the blend of reggaeton, bachata, Soca, dancehall, and Afrobeats that gained Adobo DMV its wide following. The company has been hosting parties since July 2018 at The Bullpen, Echostage, and now-closed Big Chief bar with the brand’s signature glitter-filled Adobo seasoning shakers. (They switched to glitter when guests complained about being covered in the real thing.)

But co-founders Pedro Night and Walter Alvarado say they hatched the idea for a festival with major headliners a decade ago.

“We always set out to create an event that not only served as a safe space for people from different backgrounds, but also a place where we could celebrate the cultural elements and the heritage that we share,” Night says. “Adobo is very much a celebration of the DMV and the diversity we have in this area.”

The area is home to multiple communities of first and second-generation immigrants from Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa, says Night, who’s worked in D.C. nightlife for about 10 years.

“There are just so many of us who grew up like that in this area,” he adds. “What we have here is special.”

Adobo and Broccoli City began collaborating on events in 2019 and early 2020, right before the pandemic hit. Then, Night says, Adobo paused its big event productions for 16 months. but it continued hosting socially-distanced gatherings, such as a drive-in screening of the 1997 Selena biopic.

Finally, a few months ago, they came back to the drawing board and decided to go through with the festival plans.

The lineup features Panamanian singer Sech, Dominican rappers Tokischa and Chimbala, and Sángo, a DJ blending hip-hop, soul, and house music. Other guests include Trinidadian singers Nailah Blackman and Latenightjiggy, as well local and national DJs.

While it’s not the biggest lineup, Night says the mix of artists from different backgrounds and genres matches Adobo’s mission of bringing people together. Local vendors will be on site selling drinks, food, clothing, and other merchandise.

“We’ve received virtually all positive feedback on [the lineup] so far,” Night says. “That’s pretty unprecedented.”

Pre-sale tickets are available, and tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday, Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. General admission starts at $85, and VIP tickets start at $165.

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