Destination: music.

• Author: Holston, Mark
• Position: Latin American music festivals

Sizzling salsa under the stars by Acapulco Bay. Hot jazz in the shade of Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro. Blazing big bands aboard an elegant cruise ship charting the waters of the Eastern Caribbean. Promoters are discovering that the paring of major international talent with striking settings is producing a hit with music festival fan throughout the Hemisphere. This year alone, almost a dozen major festivals in the Caribbean and South America will bank on this sure-fire combination of great talent and singular surroundings.

The Acapulco World Music Festival, a new venture this year, featured 30 world class artists in five venues for a week-long extravaganza beginning June 7. Spotlighted were jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Ramsey Lewis; Latin music luminaries Michel Camilo and Ray Barretto; and pop performers Michael McDonald and Angela Bofill, among many others. Because of Alcapulco's proximity to the United States and its exceptional recreational opportunities, the festival's promoters believe it will grow to become Mexico's largest festival, with the potential of attracting close to 50,000 visitors.

Turning toward the Caribbean, hot music festivals are hosted annually by Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Bridgetown, Barbados. Aruba's Jazz and Latin Music Festival, now in its sixth year, is...