Leveling up: Latinx Games Festival fosters inclusive environment in video game culture

Gamers will soon converge on the National Hispanic Cultural Center for a three-day festival celebrating Latin American game development and culture.

The sixth annual Latinx Games Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, through Sunday, Sept. 22, at the NHCC, 1701 Fourth St. SW. This is the first time it will be held outside of California.

The event connects the community to the video game industry and was created to promote global Latino representation throughout the video game industry.

This year’s speakers include Carolina Torres, senior impact producer; Cisco E. Maldonado, head of brand-Americas at NetEase Games; Jorge Lacera, creative director for Studio Lacera; Eduardo Vaisman, audio director for Ubisoft Toronto; and Gricelda Hernandez, content program manager at ID@Xbox. For a schedule and more information, visit latinxgamesfestival.com.

Attendees can test their gaming skills against all play levels in Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and Mortal Kombat 1 during the esports tournament. Guests can also play innovative video games developed throughout Latin America at the Playable Arcade.

Arcade selection includes Into the Grid (Argentina), Bit & Quantum: Save the Earth! (Argentina), Goblin Cleanup (Argentina), Dying Breed (Uruguay), Payloaders Strike! (Argentina), KVLT (Argentina), Mark of the Deep (Brazil), Deep Beyond (Argentina), Tenebris Somnia (Argentina), and Astor: Blade of the Monolith (Colombia).

Special online Twitch and STEAM events will take place from Sunday, Sept. 15, through Sunday, Sept. 22. Official selections include Prisma (Columbia), Hollow Flowers (Argentina), Super Farming Boy (Argentina); The Path Into the Abyss (Argentina), and Mankind Reborn (Puerto Rico).

Zack Quintero, NHCC executive director, told the Journal in January, that he began discussions with the festival last year. He said he thought the Latinx Games Festival’s core values complement the NHCC’s mission and wanted to be part of helping build the growing gaming industry into the next decade.

NHCC received support from local strategic partners including the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, the state of New Mexico Economic Development Department and the city of Albuquerque.

The Latinx Games Festival was founded in 2019 by executive director Jason Vega, a New York City native raised Puerto Rican entrepreneur who currently resides in Mumbai, India. His passion for building strategies let the cultivation of relationships focused on catapulting underrepresented diverse voices and fostering an inclusive environment in video game, entertainment and STEM.

In January, Vega told the Journal, the Albuquerque event will have a Latinx games exhibition.

“This will be an exhibit showcasing video game history celebrating the Latino influence in gaming,” he said. “Take Mortal Kombat, which was developed by Ed Boon and John Tobias, who are two Dominicans who helped get this game off the ground. I’m excited to see how the exhibition comes together.”