Luis “Sweet Lou” Hidalgo is known on Richmond’s radio airwaves as “The Voice of Latin Jazz.” He’s the founder of the Richmond Latin Jazz and Salsa Festival and the owner of Master and Sons Plumbing company. Hidalgo also is a man on a mission: to harness the unifying power of the music he loves.

“If we can dance together,” he said, “we can understand each other.”

There’s sure to be plenty of dancing when his festival returns for its 17th year on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the 17th Street Market in Shockoe Bottom. Maryland-based salsa outfit Edwin Ortiz y La Mafia Del Guaguanco will serve as house band for the free event as a string of featured performers from near and far hit the stage between noon and 8 p.m.

Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes from Florida, Rossi “La Dama del Sabor” Lopez and Grupo Ritmo Son from Hampton Roads, Friday Love and Alejandro’s Nephews from right here in Richmond — these artists and others will come together for a day of festive food, infectious rhythms and community.

“Latin jazz is universal,” Hidalgo said. “Salsa is universal.”

That big-tent philosophy is baked into Hidalgo’s Latin Jazz and Salsa Show, which is simulcast each Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. on WHAP and his own Oasis Broadcasting Network. Between songs, Hidalgo switches from Spanish to English and back again to ensure that all listeners are caught up on the conversation.

“We do both, because that’s who we are: Latino Americans,” he said.

The festival grew organically out of Hidalgo’s radio show, which started in 2005 when he looked into buying ad time for his plumbing business and ended up buying airtime instead.

He was short on hosting experience but not on musical appreciation. Hidalgo remembers formative childhood Saturdays spent cleaning the house and soaking in the melodies and rhythms of Puerto Rico courtesy of his mother. Growing up in Brooklyn meant he was also exposed to rock, R&B and the various sounds emanating from the borough’s many churches.

“As a Puerto Rican Jewish kid, I had to learn how to get along,” he said, “and the way I got along was being able to groove with the music.”

The first iteration of the Richmond Latin Jazz and Salsa Festival was self-funded and informal. Hidalgo asked Preston T. Brown, then owner of WHAP, for permission to DJ from the WHAP parking lot. There were burgers, hot dogs and a few dozen listeners in attendance. Hidalgo estimates that hundreds showed up for the following year’s parking lot get-together — as did police officers, due to a lack of permitting. But even they were won over.

“They fell in love with what we were doing,” Hidalgo said.

They weren’t the only ones. As the festival outgrew the parking lot, Hidalgo worked with his team to secure sponsors, form a 501(c)(3) organization and join forces with the City of Richmond. Dogwood Dell played host for years, but changes to the Byrd Park site’s management necessitated a move Downtown. Unchanged,

however, is Hidalgo’s commitment to philanthropy, which has resulted in festival-affiliated school supply donations and will take the form of a canned food drive at this year’s event. The festival will also present local service awards — something near and dear to Hidalgo’s heart, given his own family’s history of military and first-responder service.

It’s all part of an inclusive approach that extends from the festival’s impact and atmosphere to the generosity extended to the artists who perform.

“We treat them like family,” Hidalgo said. “We feed them, the whole thing. It’s like a family love fest.”

For more information, visit oasisbroadcastingnetwork.com.