Machynlleth’s Latin American music festival is returning to the town for its 19th year.

Beginning in 2005, El Sueño Existe festival fills the Dyfi Valley with the unlikely sounds of political Latin American music, this year taking place from 9-11 August.

The previously sold-out festival features three days of music, poetry, dance, family activities, food, workshops and talks with a climate justice theme.

The festival began life with a group of Chileans who sought refuge in Britain in the 1970s and Machynlleth’s solidarity campaigners for Chileans, continued by younger generations who have inherited the dual-nationality identity and the event itself.

Endorsed by Jeremy Corbyn, the festival will this year focus on Bolivia, the Amazon and global struggles for climate justice, featuring Bolivian artists Wiphalas Across the World group, Bolivian trio Sagrada Familia and poet and filmmaker Giovanna Miralles.

The headliner will be Fria Violeta Band from Cambridge blending musical heritages, with other musicians including Welsh singer Martyn Joseph and Columbian rap band Zona Marginal.

There will be talks and workshops from Sian Phillips - sister of murdered Amazon journalist Dom Phillips, Paul Allen from CAT, Green party leader Anthony Slaughter, Sen Munoz on the War on Want, a presentation direct from Nicaragua, Sarah Shenkar from Survival International on remote Amazon cultures, plus workshops on Incan creation myths and cosmovisions, and indigenous instruments.

The festival was inspired by the work of Chilean campaigner and musician Victor Jara, who became one of Chile’s brutal dictator Pinochet’s victims at age 39.

The event will feature his songs, a tree-planting project for Pinochet’s victims and a tribute to Jara’s widow who died in 2023.

Organisers wrote: “Unlike his tormentors, Jara’s legacy has become recognised as uniquely artistic – an eloquent testimony of the flagrant injustices in Chilean society, and a call to arms to remedy them.”  

Indulia, a Chilean exiled here since 1975, who has attended several El Sueño Existe festivals, said: “The festival is the one place in Britain where I really feel I belong.”

The volunteer-run festival will be spread throughout Machynlleth venues, with tickets between £60-£100 including camping available on the webite.