FUKUOKA -- In case you haven't noticed, a boom in Latin culture is currently sweeping the globe. The most visible reverberations were seen at this year's Grammy Awards where Latins Carlos Santana, Ricky Martin and Mark Anthony walked away with major awards. But it doesn't stop there.

Interest in Latin culture is also thriving in Fukuoka, where attendance at salsa classes is rising, whether at popular Latin bars such as One Way and Rumours, or at the workshops of salsa and Afro-Cuban dance instructor Francisco Mena.

Latin sounds are also a big part of the music selection at Love FM, a multilingual radio station where DJs preciously sensed that Latin would be the next big musical influence.

Sales of Latin music climbed steadily in Kyushu -- but not dramatically. "This isn't a boom that can be compared to Tamagotchi or the Internet," explains Raul Leon from Mexico, a graphic designer and occasional promoter of Latin events in Fukuoka. "But I think that more people have become interested in our music and dance."

Those who are interested -- whether they're simply curious or passionate fans -- will enjoy an impressive parade of Latin bands, ranging from raw new talent to respected veterans such as the Buena Vista Social Club (for which concert tickets sold out in 15 minutes flat in Fukuoka). Even at Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-styled theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture, trademark blonde performers in rustic costumes will share the stage this summer with music and dance groups from Spain, Brazil and Trinidad.

Proof of the changing tides can be also seen at at Nagasaki's Iojima Island where a 10-year-old reggae concert has been replaced by "Caribbean Festival in Iojima -- Isla de Salsa 2000." Happening Aug. 19, the event is produced by Tiempo Iberoamericano, a Latin and Spanish culture center in Fukuoka, and star the fabulous Afro-Cuban sounds of Bamboleo. The day's line-up also features Latin big band-inspired Tropicante, and Matarenga, a Brazilian band that fuses together pop, rock and jazz.

The Iojima event, however, is a spin-off of the undisputed king of Latin events in Kyushu: the original Isla de Salsa at Nokonoshima Island, Fukuoka. The event, hosted by Tiempo Iberoamericano, attracted 800 visitors in 1997, its first year. As the extent of their cultural events and classes mushroomed, Tiempo's organizers pushed for better known artists each year and in 1999, visitors to Isla de Salsa reached 2,300. This year, the names are huge: Michael Stuart, Bamboleo, Ray Sepulveda and Corrine -- and expected to draw crowds as large as 3,000.

The event is a magical one that lasts from noon until night. Over 300 volunteer staffers are on hand to ensure all goes smoothly, and help enormously in making this an inexpensive event.

After a short 10-minute ferry ride from west Fukuoka, visitors are met by verdant hills rising above the small township of Noko. Nokonoshima is a lush green isle, popular year-round and covered in a mad tangle of bamboo, mandarin tree plantations and gnarled coastal trees.

The only traffic on the island is an infrequent bus service. During Isla de Salsa, visitors are taken by shuttle bus to the beachside concert site, where Latin food and colorful cocktails are sold at grass-fringed stalls. As night approaches and the main bands hits the stage, the party starts to sizzle, with everyone dancing up a storm on the white sand floor. It's a whirl of bikinis, dapper white hats and samba costumes.

Kyushu has a Latin community whose numbers are boosted by the Japanese descendents who returned from Peru, Brazil and other countries to work in Japan after the '70s. Although their numbers are nothing like those of Osaka or Nagoya, Isla de Salsa is possibly Japan's biggest Latin event.

"A tiny 5 percent or less of visitors to Isla de Salsa are Spanish or Latin, and a further 25 percent are a diverse international bunch," says Santiago Hererra, Tiempo Iberoamericano's director. "Most are Japanese -- a great indication of the support we have here," he says.

As for the enduring attraction of Latin culture, Hererra says, "People are attracted to Latin culture because it stands for naturalness and communication, rhythm and acceptance."

Most likely, the Latin boom is just starting to heat up.