Inspirational Latin American Awards handed out in advance of this weekend's Carnaval del Sol

Last night at the Edgewater Casino, Latincouver hosted its fourth annual awards ceremony for achievers in the community.

It came before this weekend's big bash, Carnaval del Sol, which takes place on the northeast side of False Creek all day and evening on Saturday (July 11) and Sunday (July 12). This free fiesta re-creates a Latin American plaza and features delicious food, children's entertainment, a soccer tournament, and music from the likes of Alex Cuba, Gerardo Contino, and Rumba Calzada.

Below, you can read about the winners of this year's Inspirational Latin Awards.

Arts and culture: Marlin Ramazzini and Fito Garcia

Guatemalan-born Juno Award nominee Marlin Ramazzini fronts a band named after her that has played festivals across the country. She moved to Vancouver in 1990 and has also been nominated for a West Coast Music Award. Fito Garcia hails from Guatemala and has been nominated for several awards, including for work he's done with Ramazzini.

Business entrepreneur: Pepe Barajas

Whistler-based Pepe Barajas created Infinity Enterprises Group Ltd., which runs three businesses: Mexican Corner Restaurant, La Cantina–Urban Taco Bar Inc., and Clean Perfect Services. He captured the best immigrant entrepreneur honour at the Small Business B.C. awards.

Sports and athletics: Marcus Aurelio

With a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Marcus Aurelio has had a 22-10 record as a professional mixed-martial arts competitor. He's also a Capoeira master who donates a significant amount of time to charitable events.

Waldo Briño Award: Francisco Javier Barajas

Javier Barajas is a volunteer facilitator who's mentored Latino youth in Chicago as well as in Vancouver. He's also been a big supporter of the Latin American Film Festival and Flamenco Rosario, and this year, he launched Lazos Hispanos. He's a member of LOUD Business for LGBTQ.

Non-Latino making an impact: Anne Bethune

Anne Bethune is president of Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports, which provides skiing and snowboarding oppportunities for people with disabilities. An adaptive ski instructor and the mother of three sons, she used to be an occupational therapist.

Innovation and Sustainability: Endeavour Silver Corp./Bradford Cooke

Bradford Cooke is a professional geologist who founded Endeavour Silver Corp. in 2003. It's bought and rebuilt three silver-gold mines in Mexico along with four exploration projects in the same country.